Numismatic Rogues Gallery

Numismatic Rogues Gallery

Pete Smith
A Work-in-Progress April 30, 2024

Introduction

This is a catalogue of people in the
numismatic hobby who are perpetrators or
victims of crimes resulting in convictions. It
also mentions some victims in cases that
have not been solved. In a few cases,
suspects have died before they could be
prosecuted.

Previous Publications

Many of the people included in_ this
publication have been included in prior
publications by the author. American
Numismatic Biographies (ANB) was
published on paper in 1992. It is regularly
revised and posted on the Newman
Numismatic Portal. Most numismatic killers
and victims are included in ANB.

A History of Coin Dealers in the Twin
Cities Area was written for the Northwest
Coin Club and published on the club website
in 2016. It covers the same topic as the
chapter on “The Minnesota Problem.”

The author contributes regular articles for
publication in The E-Sylum. Some of those
articles are republished here. Other articles
cover individuals mentioned here.

A book by Moira Greyland. The Last Closet
(2018), covers the life of her father, Walter
Breen. That was used as a source. However,
this author contributed scanned copies of
articles to that author. Thus, he was a source
for the source.

Other Sources

Contemporary newspaper articles are
available by subscription on
newspapers.com. Citations are not included
because the same material is frequently
covered in multiple articles. Where quotes
are used, the citation appears with the text.

Court transcripts are not generally available
on the web. Transcripts of legal appeals are
frequently available and may include a
summary of the case.

Each state has a website that may be used to
locate convicts. This is used to find current
convicts. In a few cases they give release
dates for former convicts.

Habitual Criminals

It will be seen that numismatic crimes are
often not isolated events. Crimes are
perpetrated by habitual criminals, organized
gangs, and the organized crime community.

Unsolved Crimes

In general, only crimes that result in
convictions are described here. There are
many similar crimes that are not reported,
not prosecuted or not resulting in
convictions,

A Work-in-Progress

This is presented as a work-in-progress to
judge the level of interest in the topic.
Readers are encouraged to suggest other
stories to be included and other sources that
may provide additional information.

Numbers

The index at the end of the document
includes 429 names as of 4/30/2014. These
represent:

324 Perpetrators
200 Incidents

94 Victims

7 Aliases

5 Others (witnesses)

People who are mentioned in the stories but
are not perpetrators or victims are not
included in the index.

Table of Contents

AUR OFS 555i che Sih coed te eet ae ees he 2 Murder — Victims ..0...0.0 cece eeeeeeeeeeeeeneeeees 43
Burglary coscecsces.tcesnissecieoteeuieseseratenisceuecsontesdesvene 4 Pedophile is :cescos.2dcressecriesceete eerste ees ees 57
Coingate 06:3. is 7 Ponzi Schemes ...0........ cc eceeeeeeeseeeeeeeeeneeneeeeees 62
Coumterteits 2... ccchssieatistcen cee eletensterisns 9 Receiving Stolen Property........0...... eee 62
Disappearancess........... ce cceeeceeeceseeseeeeeeeeeaeees 10 RODDOVY sic. cci sce cs cccsiesderscsneeatsicnesssrbeseeesca tien ceeds 63
Drug Trafficking 00.0.0... eee eeeeeeneeneees 10 The Great Denver Mint Robbery ................. 67
Embezzlement .........00... cc ceesceseceseceseeeneeeeeeees 12 The Dupont Heist... ee eeeeeeeeeeeeeeees 70
Bank: Braud ssc: sccesesatteac tate sstiseieateenses rained 12 The Fogg Museum Heist ..........0. eee 72
PVA Ws sistas siedetevipeersanivettissirnsaaiecdeesieceet teas 13 Safe Cracking ...3.205.ccany geen ites dees 75
Mail Pratid j..22:4iihc Aine ie antenna 14 Tax Evasion 3 :.<. 42:02:35 scien ances 75
The Minnesota Problem ..................: eee 16 OCS § eee eerrrrertcne pt eer terre ere rrr 76
Money Laundering............. eee eeeseeeeeneeeeees 27 TING OX iis cdcceicsctcesaceiccesesrteevcasuiventect ese tareeen tee te 78
Attempted Murder.............ciceeeeeeseeeeeees 28

Murder — Killers and Accomplices............... 28

Authors

The story of Dale Estin Birdsell
should begin with his father
Raymond Earle Birdsell. Raymond
was born in Frankfort, Kansas, on
August 7. 1893. In 1913 he was
charged with forgery for passing
bad checks in Oakland, California.
He was sentenced to a year in
Folsom Prison.

He next received a_ six-year
sentence for forgery in 1915 and
was sent to San Quentin Prison. He
was released in 1919.

Raymond married Ona Robinson
on December 20. 1920. Their son
Dale was born on November 7, 1921.

Raymond was described by authorities as
“one of California’s most prolific passers of
fictitious checks.” He was caught again in
1932 and sentenced to life in prison as a
habitual criminal. He died in Folson Prison
August 1, 1938.

DALE E. BIRDSELL

Dale was only ten-years-old when
his father went to prison for life.
Perhaps in that limited time, the
father had an influence on his son.

Dale Birdsell was discharged from
the Army in 1941 for swindling.
He enlisted in the Army again on
July 24, 1943, and served overseas
during World War MII. His
registration papers indicate he had
two years of college and was
employed as an office clerk. He
was listed as single with
dependents. He was examined by
an Army psychiatrist in 1944 who
found him to be psychopathic and
he was discharged.

In August of 1956 he was selected as a judge
to pick the winner for the Miss Mississippi
contest. He was described as director of the
American Models Association in New
Orleans.

A month later he was charged with
extortion. Birdsell, working with the College
Queen contest took nude pictures and
threatened to expose and disgrace one of the
women. At the time he was editor and
publisher of Southern Digest, a_ pro-
segregation paper in Baton Rouge. A search
of his house turned up a hypodermic needle
and syringe. Possession resulted in a seven
year prison sentence at Angola State
Penitentiary. In June of 1957 he was granted
a new trial because of faults with the first
trial. The Mississippi Supreme Court
declared the conviction unconstitutional and
he was released.

Just a few months later in 1958, Birdsell, 37,
met a 16-year-old girl in the Ritz Hotel
lobby in Washington. She had run away
from home in Maryland. He said she could
be a model and offered to manage her career.
They got on a bus intending to go to New
Orleans. They got as far as Memphis where
the girl became disillusioned with Birdsell.
She left him and notified police. He and the
girl were registered at the King Cotton hotel
as husband and wife. Birdsell was tried and
convicted of contributing to the delinquency
of a minor, fined $1000 and sentenced to 11
months and 29 days in the Selby County
(Tennessee) workhouse.

In 1960, he was described as an Arkansas
Ku Klux Klan organizer. On trial again, he
could not afford an attorney and represented
himself. He gave a long speech in his
defense saying that he had an irresistible
impulse due to a mental and emotional
breakdown. He said that he had two
unsuccessful marriages, a psychiatric
discharge from the army and suffered a skull
fracture in an automobile accident, He was
convicted of five counts of passing bad
checks and again received a two-year prison
sentence. He was released on probation in
May of 1962.

In 1964, Birdsall was convicted on charges
related to transporting three Thunderbirds
for sale in Mexico. An attempt was made to
determine his sanity. He testified to doctors
that he was acting under orders from his
commanding general, Nathan Bedford
Forrest, provisional Army Confederate
States of America and Imperial Wizard of

the Ku Klux Klan. He said that stealing cars
was not illegal as he was foraging to support
the cause. The doctor concluded that
Birdsall could no longer tell right from
wrong and should be committed to a federal
mental institution. He was admitted to
Springfield, Missouri Medical Center for
Federal Prisoners. The conviction was
sustained.

In 1969 he was charged with forgery,
declared incompetent to stand trial and was
sent to Austin State Hospital where he
escaped.

In Houston in 1970, he admitted that he
cashed 200 bad checks worth $10,000. He
claimed that he was raising money to
finance a rightwing revolution. He intended
to pay everyone back after the revolution.

The numismatic community is fortunate that
Birdsell was out of prison long enough to
make his contribution to numismatic
literature. Birdsell compiled Ku Klux Klan
Tokens that was published in 1977. It was
twenty pages with illustrations describing
eighty pieces. A second edition published in
1981 was expanded to forty pages.

In 1984 he was again arrested in Victoria,
Texas, and accused of passing bad cashier’s
checks worth $17,367.91. He was implicated
in a larger nation-wide check forging
scheme.

Dale died in Fort Worth, Texas, on October
15, 1993.

Previous biographies have unfortunately
confused Dale Birdsell from Texas with
Dale Birdsell from Oregon (1920-1998). A
story in the May 14, 2023, issue of The E-
Sylum was the result of that confusion.

Walter Breen is discussed at length in the
Pedophiles chapter.

Robert Harry Burnie (b. 5/20/1916 d.
8/14/1989) was the author of Small
California and Territorial Gold Coins:
Quarter Dollars, Half Dollars, Dollars
(1955). He married Ruth Curry on July 2,
1939, and they had a son and daughter.

He was apparently well respected in
Pascagoula, Mississippi, as a scout leader

and fund raiser. He was the Jackson County,
Mississippi, chairman for the March of
Dimes and fund raiser for the Jackson
County Kiwanis Club.

Burnie conducted a mail bid sale of gold
coins dated May 31, 1956. The terms of sale
required a 50% deposit with bids. The sale
was never held and Burnie took off with the
deposits of about $35,000.

Burnie took the money to buy a new
Oldsmobile for his wife and a Cadilac El
Dorado for himself. To avoid loneliness on
his trip, he picked up a dancing school
instructor and headed for Mexico City.

He was later arrested at the Texas/Mexico
border, brought to Tyler, Texas, and charged
with fraud. He pleaded guilty to five counts
of mail fraud on February 26, 1957. On
March 15, 1957, he was sentenced to three
years in prison.

After his release from prison, Burnie moved
to Las Vegas and died there in 1989.

His story was told in “Burned by Burnie” by
George F. Kobe in the March 2020 issue of
The Numismatist.

Charles Lynn Glaser (b. 6/25/1943 d.
4/28/2011)

Born in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania. Married
Nosta Boll October 1, 1966. They had a son.
Received B.R.A. from Philadelphia College
of Art in 1966.

He began collecting at age 14. In 1961 he
and Paul Weinstein began a dealership in
Lafayette Hill, Pennsylvania, DBA
Metropolitan Coin Company. Later that year
the partnership dissolved. Weinstein retained
the dealership. Glaser remained publisher of
the Metropolitan Numismatic Journal under
the new name Numismatic Journal. Walter
Breen was the editor.

He contributed the "Numismatically
Speaking" column to Numismatic News.
Author of Counterfeiting in America in
1968.

In 1974 he was charged with stealing maps
at Dartmouth and served seven months in
prison. In 1982 he was convicted of stealing
maps from the University of Minnesota and
sentenced to six months in prison. In 1985
he was convicted of stealing rare maps from
libraries. There were other incidents.

Frank Albert Lapa (b. 10/24/1931 d.
8/28/1995)

Born in Chicago. Proprietor of Coins of the
World in Chicago. Coin dealer in Beverly
Hills, California, author of:

Russian Wire Money, 16 pages (1967)

Check List of Siege and Necessity Money
(1968)

Kandy Kings of Ceylon 1055-1295 A.D.
(1968)

Vatican City1929 (1969)

Convicted in 1977 for the 1975 murder of
Raymond Yablun. He was released on parole
after serving less than fifteen years for the
murder.

He was also an accomplished painter or
copyist of paintings.

He died in Santa Clara, California.

Richard W. Suter was the author of How
Not to Get Ripped off in the Coin Business.
He was a member of the Numismatic
Literary Guild.

He was charged with swindling customers
out of more than $67,000. He was convicted
in 1984, sentenced to a year in prison
ordered to pay restitution and to stay out of
the coin business.

Burglary

The Omaha public library was the repository
for the Byron Reed coin collection. Security
was a problem and there were several
attempts to rob the collection.

On August 31, 1900, a silent alarm was sent
from the library to the police station. The
police called the library and the janitor was
sent to investigate. He reported suspicious
activity and the police responded.

Frank Howe was arrested in the coin room
and was accused of trying to break a lock
with a metal tool. In November he was
convicted of having burglar tools in his
possession for the purpose of committing
burglary.

On June 8, 1909, the janitor responded to a
burglar alarm. Norman Bateman was found
leaning on one of the cases and arrested. In
his possession was a wood rasp which he
explained he used to comb his hair. The
judge was not impressed and Bateman was
sentenced to twenty days in jail.

Upon his release, he attempted to pass bad
checks in town. He was returned to jail for
an extension of his time.

Ed Cromley was also taken into custody
and suspected of being a lookout for
Bateman. The judge politely suggested he
leave town.

As the Omaha World-Herald reported,
“Upon his promise to create big clouds of
dust and smoke in making his exit from the
metropolis, Crumley was permitted to
ooze.”

Frank Collins was the name given by an
attempted burglar apprehended in_ the
Omaha library on January 2, 1930.

He had broken a basement window to get
into the building, pried open an iron screen,
broke through a heavy iron grating and
drilled a series of holes through door. When
he reached through to turn the doorknob, he
set off an alarm. He admitted that he had
hidden tools in books on the shelves.

He told police he was out of work. “TI think I
could have lived the rest of my life on the
proceeds from the sale of that collection,” he
said. He eventually told police his real name
was S. H. Fisher. from Austin, Texas.

On January 7, 1930, he was sentenced to
two years in the state penitentiary. Admitting
to a long criminal history, he said, “I'll bet
you I die in the penitentiary this trip.”

Frederick Holtz was convicted of a
burglary at the Baltimore home of Waldo
Newcomer. Value of the loss was estimated
at $30.000.

Newcomer had a burglar alarm installed in
1913. One of the electricians rented a safety
deposit box and paid with a $50 California
Territorial gold coin. Stanley Walker was
manager of the safe deposit boxes. He
showed the gold coin to S. H. Chapman who
identified it as a coin sold to Newcomer.
Holtz was arrested and charged with the
burglary.

Out of 1250 stolen pieces, only 151 were
recovered from the safe deposit box. When
Holz had difficulty disposing of the silver
coins, he dumped them into the Hudson
River near Weehawken, Those coins had a
face value of $2,442.

*Gary Don Miller was charged with
Burglary, theft and criminal damage after
driving a pickup truck through the front of
the Catalina Coin Shop in Tucson, Arizona.
The 1993 theft included $20,000 worth of
coins, gold and silver, guns, paper money
and stamps. He was sentenced to 11.25 years
in prison.

*Wallace Murphy Plum was accused in
several Utah burglaries. He was convicted of
the 1975 burglary of a coin store in Ogden,
Utah. His sentence was one to 25 years in
prison.

*The house of LaVere Redfield was
burglarized on February 29, 1952. A 400-
pound safe was taken with perhaps $1.5
million in cash, jewelry and negotiable
securities The safe was found in an
abandoned mine shaft.

Charged in the case were :

Anthony Gazzigli was a Reno janitor who
pleaded guilty, testified for the prosecution,
and was given probation.

Louis Gazzigli pleaded guilty and received
a sentence of one to five years in the Nevada
State Penitentiary.

Leona Mae Giordano picked the pocket of
Andreas Young and put stolen cash into
circulation, received a sentence of a year-
and-one-day. She was described in the press
as a “shapely gambling house waitress.”

Marie Jeanne D-Arc Michaud was
accused as the ringleader. She received a

five-year sentence for transporting stolen
property cross state lines.

Benton Henry Robinson was handyman at
the guest ranch. He received a sentence of
four years in the federal penitentiary.

Frank Sorrenti had his charges dismissed
for lack of evidence.

John Baptiste Triliegi was from
Milwaukee. In September of 1952, he
received a prison sentence of one to five
years. While serving time, he continued to
receive workers compensation for an
industrial accident.

Andries R. Young was also’ from
Milwaukee. In 1939 he received a life
sentence for a 1927 murder. In September of
1952, he received a prison sentence of one
to five years

*James J. Rewt pleaded guilty to the
August 8, 1961, burglary of H & R
Enterprises in Belvidere, Illinois. His take
was $45 in rare coins of which $30 was
recovered. He lost the rest in a card game at
a pool hall and spent it on food.

*The El Dorado Rare Coin Exchange in
Sedona, Arizona, was burglarized on May
27, 1987. The estimated loss was nearly
$500,000. It was suspected that the
perpetrators were involved with several
other burglaries.

Richard Bruce Lee was sentenced to 7%
years in prison as the mastermind of the
Sedona burglary.

Allen Scott Lloyd pleaded guilty to one
count of burglary and one of theft. He was
sentenced on June 3, 1988, to two years in
prison and required to pay $70,000 in
restitution.

Randall J. Bates was the third man suspected
in the Sedona burglary.

*The Pony Express Coin and Jewelry Shop
was burglarized in St. Joseph Missouri, on
October 28, 1988.

Timothy W. Wilkinson was sentenced to
three years in the state penitentiary for

felony burglary. He was the son of a St.
Joseph city councilman.

In 1990, Wilkinson was charged with
assaulting a police officer.

Paul A. Clark was sentenced to three years
in the state penitentiary for felony burglary
but was placed on four years probation.

Craig D. Hunter pleaded guilty to felony
burglary. He was sentenced to seven years in
prison but placed on three years probation.
He was ordered to spend 60 days shock time
in jail and pay $364 restitution.

Willis Jones pleaded guilty to the burglary
and was sentenced to two years in the state
penitentiary. Probation was denied.

*There was a series of post office burglaries
in 1978.

On January 3, the Post Office in Martinez,
California, lost $119,000 in cash, food
stamps and postage stamps.

On February 18, the Post Office in Kent,
Washington, lost $127,000 in stamps.

On August 24, the Post Office in Ontario,
California, lost $161,000 in stamps and
currency.

Postal authorities suspect that the burglaries
may have been conducted by an organized
group known as “The Bailey Gang.”

The first arrest was made on December 6,
1978. Frank Roza, Jr. was the owner of
Consolidated Coin Co. in Reno. He was
charged under Racketeer-Influenced and
Corrupt Organizations (RICO) statutes. He
was accused as being a fence for the
burglary ring.

The government’s chief witness was
William Eggers who had participated in the
burglaries and granted immunity in
exchange for his cooperation.

Roza was convicted, sentenced to fifteen
years in prison and assessed a $25,000 fine.

Antonio F. Cerrito testified in court that he
had conducted burglaries of gold, silver and
coins in Portland in 1978. Frank Roza had
been a fence for the stolen goods.

He also testified that Roza had recruited him
to kill a witness. Eventually Cerritos called
it off.

Dr. Benjamin P. Wright was the ANA
president in 1903. He had a coin collection
burglarized on July 30, 1903. Thieves Harry
Wildwood and Clarence Greagen took an
estimated 2000 of his collection of 20,000

coins with an estimated value of a thousand
dollars. They took off for Albany and
attempted to sell the coins there without
much success. In frustration they dumped
some coins from a Hudson River ferry and
others in a mill pond near Rennselaer. Some
of the coins were recovered buy most were
lost.

Coingate

“Coingate” is the nickname for a scandal
involving theft from funds invested by the
Ohio Bureau of Workers Compensation. The
scandal spread to take down the leadership
of the Ohio Republican Party.

Timothy H. LaPointe (b. 1/3/1947 d.
4/27/2023) was
born in Chicago. He
was with Old
Roman Coin
Exchange in New
York City. Then in
1978 he joined New
England Rare Coin
Galleries in Boston.
In 1989 he became
director of sales for
Ruffco Financial
Services in Provo,
Utah. In 1992 he
was appointed
executive vice president of Numismatic
Investments of Ohio.

He was operations manager for Vintage
Coins and Collectibles, owned by Tom Noe.
He was indicted on one count of corrupt
activity under RICO and six counts of
record tampering. The charge of corruption
was dropped in exchange for his testimony
in the Noe trial.

At trial he testified that he created false
invoices to indicate the company owned
coins that they did not. When inspectors
came to confirm the company assets, they
borrowed coins from other dealers.

On November 27, 2006, he pleaded guilty to
three counts of record tampering. On
January 8. 2007, he was sentenced to three
years in state prison.

LaPointe died in Chicago on April 27, 2023.

Thomas William) Noe (b. 7/19/1954) was
born in Bowling Green, Ohio. He was
married to Bernadette Restivo. He began
dealing in coins in 1973. In 1975 he was
partner with Bruce Amspacher_ in
Numismatic Associates. and was president
of Vintage Coins and Collectibles in
Maumee, Ohio after 1979. He was also
president of Numismatic Investments of
Ohio after 1981.

In 1992, Noe was chairman of the Lucas
County Republican Committee. In 1993, he
was on the Bowling Green State University
Board of Trustees. In 1995 he was appointed
to the Ohio Board of Regents. He served as
chair of the 2002 Ohio Commemorative
Quarter Committee. In 2003 he was
appointed to an 8-year term on the Ohio
Turnpike Commission. He resigned on May
10. 2005.

In 1996 the Ohio General Assembly
removed requirements for investment in
bonds and opened the state to more
speculative investments. Investment

proposals were accepted from generous
party donors. In 1998, the Ohio Workers
Compensation Fund gave $25 million to

Moe to invest in rare coins. An additional
$25 million was given in 2001.

The money was given to Moe companies
Thomas Noe Inc, and Vintage Coins and
Collectibles with subsidiaries Capital Coins
Ltd. I and Capital Coins Ltd. IL, and
Visionary Rare Coins, Numismatic
Professionals, Rare Coin Alliance and Karl
D. Kartzinger.

In 2004 Noe was appointed chairman of the
Citizens Coinage Advisory Committee. He
resigned in May, 2005, when facing
prosecution for various crimes.

In 2005, Noe was charged with illegal
contributions to the Bush _ reelection
campaign. He pleaded guilty on May 31,
2006. For this he was sentenced on
September 12, 2006, to 27 months in federal
prison. Imposition of the sentence was
delayed until the resolution of other charges
against him related to management of the
rare coin funds.

Noe was a fund raiser and gave generously
to the Republican party and local charities.
After he received $25 million from the Ohio
workers Compensation Fund he _ gave
$50,000 to Catholic Youth Organization to
fund a soccer field. In appreciation, the field
was named for him.

Noe also gave $34,000 to the University of
Toledo. That included $31,000 for half
interest in a suite in the football stadium.

One of the _ subsidiaries, Numismatic
Professionals, sent an 1855 $3 gold piece
and an 1845 $10 gold piece to PCGS for
certification. The coins valued at $300,000
were lost in the return mail. A_ police
investigation failed to recover the lost coins.

This loss led to an investigation of the
investment and a series of articles in The
Toledo Blade. An audit could only locate
coins worth $13 million from the $50
million investment. This became known as
the “Coingate” scandal.

In February 2006, Noe was charged in a 53
point indictment. This included:
1 count of engaging in a corrupt activity.

1 count of theft of $1 million or more from
September 2003 through May 2005.

5 counts of grand theft.

6 counts of aggravated theft.

11 counts of money laundering.

8 counts of tampering with records.
22 counts of writing forged checks.

Noe was charged with mis-managing the
funds. Noe was found guilty on November
13, 2006, of theft, money laundering,
forgery and corrupt activity. On November
20, 2006, he was sentenced to 18 years is
state prison.

Ohio Governor Mike DeWine commuted the
sentence and Noe was released on April 21,
2020.

The broad “Coingate” scandal resulted in
charges to 21 individuals and convictions of
19. Among those convicted was Republican
Ohio governor Bob Taft. The scandal
contributed to the election of a Democrat as
the next governor.

The Ohio Workers Compensation Fund lost
$216 million dollars in the various high-risk
investments.

Noe assets included a baseball bat used by
Reggie Jackson and autographs from
Mickey Mantle. Liquidation of assets seized
from Noe yielded about $55 million for the
state. Although this was more than the
state’s investment, it was estimated that $13
million to $18 million in interest income
was lost.

[Commentary] In theory, the Ohio Workers
Compensation Fund invested $50 million in
rare coins.

What actually happened is that the fund
gave $50 million to Tom Noe to go play in
the rare coin market.

The State of Ohio gave out money as
political favors without appropriate
regulation and without adequate oversight.
Tom Noe used the money to pay off debt,
for personal expenses and as working capital
for his businesses. He comingled funds and
comingled inventory.

Profits made on coin sales went to pay
operating expenses and pay employees.
Profit was not applied to the value of the
investments.

False records concealed the value of the
fund from auditors.

Counterfeits

Francis Leroy Henning was a machinist in
Erial, New Jersey. He produced copy dies
and struck counterfeit nickels in various
dates. The easiest to spot were 1944 nickels
that lacked a mint mark on the reverse.

When these were discovered and reported in
the newspaper, Henning left town. He was
tracked down and arrested by the Secret
Service in Cleveland on October 27, 1955.

Henning was sentenced to three years in
prison with a $5,000 fine. He received an
additional three years for attempting to
counterfeit $5 bills.

It cost Henning three cents for each five-
cent coin. It is estimated that he passed
about 100,000 pieces before he was
detected. To hide the evidence, he dumped
200,000 coins in Cooper Creek. A search by
the Secret Service recovered about 14,000
pieces. He dumped another 200,000 coins in
the Schuykill River.

The story was told in The Counterfeit 1944
Nickel by Dwight H. Stuckey.

Morton Christopher Goodman (1925-
1999) was a well-respected dealer and
authority on error coins. He was a past
Director of Research and Authentication of
the Numismatic Error Collectors of
America.

On December 4, 1969, a federal grand jury
charged him with the production of
counterfeit coins. The indictment stated that
Goodman and Roy Earl Gray sold 2.300
fake 1969 double die cents to Sam Joudy for
$92,000. They also sold 330 fake dimes to
William Raymond.

In 1970 he was sentenced to two years in
prison for counterfeiting error coins worth
$100.000.

Roy Earl Gray (1949 ) was the son of
prosperous parents living in a Pasadena

house overlooking the Rose Bowl. By age
twenty, he had assembled an award-winning
collection of error coins valued at $600,000.

Gray put up part of his collection as
collateral for a $42,000 loan from coin
dealers Todd Parker and Timothy Frein.
Payment of the loan was due on June 3,
1969.

He was charged along with Mort Goodman
of producing counterfeit error coins. In 1970
he was sentenced to two years in prison.
Gray had previously been sentenced to five
years in prison for soliciting the murder of
two coin dealers.

Vito D. Minella was convicted of
conspiracy to sell altered and counterfeit
coins. He was a collector from Taylor,
Wisconsin. In 1972 he was sentenced to four
years in prison.

Bernard Von
Nothaus was co-
founder of the
Royal Hawaiian
Mint company,
creator of the Free
Marijuana Church
of Honolulu, and
founder of the
National
Organization for the
Repeal of _ the
Federal Reserve and
Code.

Internal Revenue

Von NotHaus was an advocate for a private
voluntary barter currency and _ created
“Liberty Dollars.” He was convicted in 2011
on charges that the “Liberty Dollar” violated
counterfeiting laws. He was sentenced to
three years of probation, later reduced to one
year.

Although they may be counterfeit, Liberty
Dollars are highly collectible.

Victor C. Piacentile was charged with
selling fraudulently altered 1964 cents as
mint errors. He was sentenced to three
months in prison and two years probation.

In 1992 he was charged with petty larceny
for stealing football cards at a local mall.

William Sheiner was owner of the Bronx
Coin Company. In 1967 he was charged
with selling counterfeit mint error coins. He
was sentenced to three months in prison and
three years probation

Charles Ebert (Shotgun) Slade III (1935-
2011) was an Orlando coin dealer with

Columbia Stamp & Coin Co. and a printer
with Designers Press. He was a major
distributor of numismatic accessories.

Secret Service agents raided the print shop
on May 9, 1967, and confiscated counterfeit
$5 federal reserve notes. Some counterfeit
notes would be easy to identify with a nude
woman in place of Abraham Lincoln. Slade
went into hiding and was arrested in
Shreveport, Louisiana, on September 13.
1967. He pleaded guilty on November 9,
1967, to one count of counterfeiting and
three counts of passing counterfeit notes. He
was sentenced on March 21, 1968, to twenty
years in prison.

Disappearances

Jack D. Hazelwood was owner of Wichita
Coin and Stamp Co. and the Spartan Coin
and Stamp Co. President of HZD
Enterprises, a coin wholesaler. Married with
four children.

He disappeared on November 1, 1969. He
left home in his car with a packed suitcase
going to a coin show. His car and suitcase
were found later at the coin shop.

Police believe he skipped to avoid debt. In
1977, a Kansas judge ruled that he was dead
after being missing for seven years.

William Heinrich was a dealer with Bilinda
Coins in Minnesota. Married to Linda. He
disappeared in the 1980s.

William G. Hesslein (b. 1866 d. 1932) was
a resident of New Haven, Connecticut, prior
to 1914. Married to Clara in 1891. Dealer in

Boston. He conducted at least 53 auctions
from 1907 to 1931. They were numbered up
to 144. He issued fixed price lists numbered
up to 30. In an ad in The Numismatist in
1929 he claimed he was the best known coin
dealer in the United States. On February 29,
1932, the business was sold off at auction to
pay off the holder of the mortgage. The
business was purchased by J. F. LeBlanc and
operated as Associated Coin and Stamp
Company. He disappeared mysteriously in
1932.

Charles Walsh was an unmarried coin
dealer. He disappeared from Jersey City in
February 1978 after a bank clerk had
deposited $100.000 into his account in error.

He was apprehended in Portland, Oregon, in
July and returned to New Jersey to face
charges.

Drug Trafficking

William Thomas Lawson was accused pf
distributing marijuana through his coin shop.
A Circuit Court imposed a 70 year prison
sentence in 1985 but that sentence was
suspended. A District Court then imposed
two years sentence.

Robert Leon Mertens

10

The Spokesman Review, December 14, 2004,
page 11.

“A former gold and coin dealer, convicted
last summer of drug dealing and firearms
charges, was sentenced to 37 years in prison
after claiming in federal court he had been
set up by corrupt government officials.”

Robert Leon Mertens, described by federal
authorities as having :an anti-government
agenda, could have received life in prison,
but U.S. District Judge Edward Lodge
agreed to a defense request that changed the
defendant’s sentencing range to 292 to 365
months in prison.

The 47-year-old former owner of Northwest
Coin and Jewelry in Coeur d’ Alene was
sentenced to 360 months on conspiracy and
drug distribution charges. That sentence will
be followed by 84 consecutive months for
federal firearms violations.”

Mertens served time at the Federal
Corrections Institution (FCI) in Safford,
Arizona.

Errol Bernard Resnick was convicted in
1969 on charges of illegally melting coins.

He was charged with attempting to smuggle
Canadian gold coins into the United States.

In 1971 he was charged with illegally selling
guns to out-of-state residents.

In 1971 he received a seventeen-year prison
sentence as the mastermind of a marijuana
smuggling ring.

Resnick was sentenced to die in the electric
chair for the murder of a police informant,
Clayton Eugene Walker. He was also
charged in the murder of informant Howard
Hartwig.

In 1973 the death penalty was commuted to
life imprisonment when the U. S. Supreme
Court struck down capital punishment
across the nation.

In 1973 he was sentenced to additional five
years in prison because of a prison break
attempt.

He died on October 5, 2021.

Joseph G. Snisky was the owner of the
Panther Valley Coin Exchange in the Church
Hill Mall in Hazleton, PA. He also had a
mail order business, the Panther Valley Coin
Exchange at 53 E. Railroad Street in
Nesquehoning, PA. That’s for starters,
there’s more.

11

In 1968-69, he operated the Hazelton Coin
Shop.

In April 1971, Snisky was elected auctioneer
for the Nesquehoning Coin Club.

On October 26, 1971, Snisky was elected
commander of the Nesquehonig American
Legion post.

In 1975 he was placed on one year probation
and fined for carrying firearms, dealing in
lotteries and obscenity.

On April 24, 1975, Snisky and his wife
Carol were tied up at the store while gunmen
took $30,000 in coins and $2,300 cash.

In 1977, Whitman Publishing Company, Inc.
was seeking $2,109,92 owed by Panther
Valley Coin Exchange.

On November 17, 1978, Carol was found
dead in her car, an apparent suicide.

On February 12, 1980, he was arrested by
postal employees and the U. S. Secret
Service, He was charged with 23 counts of
mail fraud, 9 counts of possession of
counterfeit gold coins and 2 counts of
possession of altered coins with the intent to
sell. In May of 1980, he was sentenced to
three years in prison and fined $10,000.

In October 1981, he signed an agreement to
stop selling through mail order.

On February 22, 1982, he surrendered to a
U. S. marshal to begin a three-year prison
sentence.

On April 28, 1989, Snisky was arrested and
charged with 31 counts of drug trafficking,
racketeering, receiving stolen property,
criminal conspiracy, and violation of
Gambling laws.

On May 28, 1991, Snisky was sentenced to
10 years and one month in federal prison
and assessed a fine of $10,000.

On August 31, 1991, Snisky was at
Evangelical Community Hospital when he
slipped past guards and escaped briefly
before being recaptured.

On July 10, 1992, a suspicious fire was
discovered at the former Tony’s Market,
owned by Snisky.

In March 2010, thieves broke a window in a
car belonging to Joseph Snisky and stole
gold and silver coins.

Embezzlement

Walter Norton Dimmick (1857-1930) was
chief clerk at the San Francisco mint. In
1901 he was charged with embezzling
$30,000 in gold coins from the Mint. His
property was searched by Secret Service
agents, furniture broken up and a piano
dismantled. After three trials he was
sentenced to nine years in San Quentin
Prison. He was released in 1909 to go into
the practice of law in San Francisco.

John Ledyard Hodge was born in
Philadelphia on October 17, 1834, the son of
William Ledyard Hodge, Assistant Secretary
of the Treasury. He attended Princeton
University and was valedictorian of the class
of 1853. He attended law school at the
University of Virginia and was licensed to
practice law in Philadelphia. He married
Susan Savage Wilson and had five children.

During the Civil War, he served as a Major
and paymaster with the Union Army.

In 1863, he was one of the founding
members of the Philadelphia Numismatic
Society and librarian. He was co-author of
Catalogue of American Store Cards.

In 1871 he was charged with embezzlement
(or defaulcation) in an amount nearing a half
million dollars. In 1872 he was pardoned by
the president in exchange for testimony
against others.

Hodge had a coin collection that was seized
by the government. It was sold at auction by
William L. Wall on October 23, 1871, with
44 lots. The two bidders were John Jay
Knox and Ebenezer Locke Mason, Jr,

Hodge died on August 26, 1902.

Bank Fraud

Chen, Tzyy Bin
Newsday, August 20, 1992, Page 39.

“A Queens coin dealer was convicted
yesterday in federal court in Manhattan of
using counterfeit gold coins to secure $13.3
million in loans from a California bank.

The jury required Tzyy Bin Chen 33, of
Little Neck, to forfeit $12.6 million that he
received from the fraudulent scheme.

According to the U.S. attorney’s office.
Chen used gold-plated silver coins that he
claimed were solid gold bullion as collateral
to obtain the loans.”

Bruce McNall was the owner of
Numismatic Fine Arts on Rodeo Drive in
Beverly Hills. In 1974 he paid $420,000 for
an Athenian Decadachma.

12

In 1986-88, he
bought the Los
Angeles Kings
hockey team from
Jerry Buss. In 1992
he was _ elected
chairman of _ the
National Hocky
League board of
governors. In 1994
he sold off
controlling interest
in the Kings.

On November 14,
1994, he was charged with defrauding $236
million from six banks over the past ten
years. One claim was that he borrowed $15
million secured by coins that did not exist.

Bruce McNall

The charges extended to his employees and
fourteen were charged in his schemes.

He pleaded guilty on December 14, 1994, to
two counts of bank fraud, one count of wire
fraud and one count of conspiracy. On
January 9, 1997, he was sentenced to five
years and ten months in prison and ordered
to pay $5 million in restitution. He was
released from prison 2001.

Mark Yaffe was
the vice-president of

National Gold
Exchange, Inc.,
(NGE) in Tampa,
Florida. The
company borrowed
about $35 million
from Sovereign

Bank secured by the
company assets.

Mark Yaffe

National Gold
Exchange was one of the leading firms in s
wholesale business that is based on trust.
That trust began to be questioned as NGE
became slow to pay.

Yaffe lived in a 29,000 square-foot mansion
in the Avil neighborhood of Tampa. It is the
largest home in the county. The house was

Richard Albright was charged by NGC in
2023 with breaking coins out of NGC
holders, replacing them with lesser value
coins and selling them.

This was a civil case and not a criminal
prosecution. The court issued an injunction
to prohibit Albright from using the NGC
name and logo to offer coins. He is also
required to turn over records of sales.

Isaac Binder
The Detroit Free Press, October 17, 1933.

“One of the 80 school teachers who made
complaints against Isaac Binder, old coin
dealer convicted of defrauding them in scrip

Fraud

13

designed to display his collection of music
boxes, organs, pianos and automaton dolls.

Yaffe gave false reports to Sovereign bank
to inflate the value of his assets. He
withdrew $3 million from his account and
filed for bankruptcy in July 2009.

He was sentenced to 20 months in federal
prison for conspiracy to commit bank fraud
and ordered to pay $3,049,581 in restitution
to the bank.

Yaffe attempted to sell his $25 million home
to pay off debts but there was no buyer.
Eventually it went back to Bank of America
in a foreclosure action in 2013.

Venders who had settled accounts in the 90
days prior to the bankruptcy were brought
into the case in a process called “clawback”
and billed for a portion of their transaction
value. This group fought the action but lost.

[Author comment: I was employed by a
dealer who did business with NGE and had
shipped them coins within the 90-day
period. My boss initially refused to pay but,
like the others, was forced to pay.]

The Phoenix Gold Corp. rose from the ashes
of NGE in August 2009.

deals, obtained a $305 judgement against
him Monday”

Jonathon Hefferlin was the owner of
Jonathon’s Coins in Inglewood, California,
starting in 1963. In the 1970’s, he was a
television commentator on channel KWHY-
TV. He was a major gold dealer during the
boom times of 1979-1980. In 1980 he began
construction of a 15,000 square foot home
with 15 bathrooms.

In 1981 he released a book, Making Inflation
Pay. Then the market collapsed, he closed
the shop in May and filed for bankruptcy.

On April 26, 1983, he was charged with
defrauding 47 customers out of $1.3 million.

In 1985 he was convicted and sentenced to
four years in state prison.

Robert Leroy
Higgins was
affiliated with
Certified Asset
Management and
First State
Depository. On
March 22, 2012,

FBI agents raided
the Baltimore Show

and seized assets a
from First State Bob Higgins
Depository.

Higgins acquired coins with investor funds
and used them as collateral for a loan, He
showed coins at shows that were supposed
to pledged as collateral. Higgins filed for
bankruptcy in May 2016.

On October 5, 2022. the Commodity Futures
Trading Commission filed an enforcement
action against Higgins. They accused
Higgins of fraud in a multi-million dollar
precious metal scheme and tax evasion.

The CFTC stated, “The orders find from
approximately January 2014 through
October 2022, Higgins, Argent and FSD,
acting as a common enterprise, engaged in a
fraudulent and deceptive scheme to solicit
and misappropriate tens of millions of
dollars in funds and_ silver from
approximately 200 customers in connection
with a fraudulent silver leasing operation
known as the “Maximus Program.”

On July 3, 2023, the CFTC announced a
consent decree ordering Higgins and _ his

companies to pay $112.7 million in
restitution to victims and an additional $33
million civil monetary penalty. In addition,
the order imposed a permanent trading ban.

In seven years after his 2016 bankruptcy,
he built up a debt of $146 million dollars.

Donald Muniz was operator of East Coast
Coin Co. and Universal Coin Exchange in
Eatontown, New Jersey. He was charged
with embezzlement and obtaining money
under false pretenses. He was sentenced in
1980 to 11 to 19 years in prison.

He had written a coin column for six eastern
newspapers. He claimed he was a renowned
expert on rare coins and former president of
a numismatic society,

Richard Scott was the owner of Goldie’s
Coin and Stamp Center near Andrews Air
Force base.

He was charged with swindling 150
investors on investments of $7.5 million.
One of his victims was author Tom Clancy.

Scott was in poor health with kidney and
liver failure. In 2000 he was convicted and
sentenced to eighteen months home
detention.

Hannes Tulving, Jr. was charged with
defrauding 380 customers out of $15 million
between August 2013 and January 2014. He
was ordered to pay a $10 million fine and
serve 30 months in prison, followed by three
years of supervised release.

Terry Woodruff, a Des Moines coin dealer,
was convicted of writing a $39,000 check to
buy three bags of silver coins when he only
had $454 in his account, He was sentenced
for up to ten years in the Iowa State
Penitentiary in 1981.

Mail Fraud

Mason Buddy was president of Eastern
States Monetary Exchange. He was charged
with bilking 80 clients out of more than
$200,000. In 1975 he was sentenced to three
years in prison.

14

Joel C. Caitch age 19, pleaded guilty to a
1964 charge of mail fraud in Chicago. He
advertised coin for sale under the name of
Joel Day but never delivered. After
collecting $62,000, he took off for Brazil.

Joseph Miller Calvert committed a series
of coin thefts in the Nashville area. At age
seventeen he was charged with burglary of
an auto parts store.

In 1965, police broke up a ring believed
involved with 50 to 60 burglaries. It was
believed addresses were taken from lists of
coin club members in the area. A search of
Calvert’s home found stolen coins. At age 22
in 1966 he was charged with theft of a coin
collection worth $15,000. In 1967 he was
charged with the May theft of a collection
worth $17,000. He was arrested 14 times in
1966 and 1967. Each time he was released
on bond.

He was convicted of stealing from a
Nashville coin dealer and sent to prison with
a sentence of six to ten years. He began
serving his term in November 1967. He
escaped from the state prison on April 4,
1968.

In 1973 he was charged with nine counts of
mail fraud. He was charged with advertising
rare 1943 copper cents but delivering copper
plated cents and offering 1972-P double-die
cents but delivering ordinary 1972 cents. On
August 16, 1973, he was sentenced to six
years in prison.

His record of marriages is almost as long as
his list of convictions. On June 13, 1963, he
married Roxanne Miller and had a son on
January 8, 1969. They were divorced on
September 18, 1969. On December 9, 1971,
he married Mary Elizabeth Ashburn. On
December 21, 1973, he married Luanne
Lynn Higdon. On January 27, 1982, he
married Luanne Lynn.

On June 5, 1992, he began serving a twelve-
year prison term for charges of grand
larceny and theft of property from an elderly
woman with alzheimers. His wife Luanne
received a four-year sentence.

Lawrence Corsa of Federal Coin Reserve
was convicted of mail fraud in 1977. He
received a three-year prison sentence.

Robert Duperton

Newsday (Nassau Edition) May 23, 2001,
page 28.

15

“The former owner of what federal officials
described as interlocking “boiler-room” coin
dealerships in Islandia has been convicted of
bilking mostly elderly clients around the
country of up to $20 million.

Robert Duperton, 41, formerly’ of
Smithtown and now Manhattan, was
convicted of conspiracy and fraud Thursday
in U.S. District Court in Central Islip.
According to Assistant U.S. Attorney
Demitri Jones.”

John Gulde was the owner of Coin and
Stamp Gallery in Phoenix, Arizona. He and
David McHenry were charged with
misrepresenting and selling overpriced silver
dollars/

He was convicted in 1990 of conspiracy to
commit mail and wire fraud. He was placed
on five-years probation, fined $10,000 and
ordered to perform 200 hours of community
service.

Martin Eugene Haber admitted that he
defrauded more than $1 million from
customers on eBay. The U.S. Attorney
received 188 complaints between May 2001
and January 2005 from customer who did
not receive coins they purchased.

Haber pleaded guilty in June 2006 to six
counts of wire fraud and one count of mail
fraud. He was sentenced to 63 months in
prison.

Larry Lomaz

The Akron Beacon Journal, October 12,
1973, page 39.

“Akron coin dealer Larry Lomaz, 21, has
been convicted of mail fraud stemming from
a charge he failed to send merchandise to
mail order customers after receiving
payment.”

David McHenry was the owner of Arizona
Rare Coin Exchange in Phoenix, Arizona.
He and John Gulde were charged with
misrepresenting and selling overpriced silver
dollars.

He was convicted of conspiracy to commit
mail and wire fraud. He was placed on five-
years probation, fined $10,000 dollars and

ordered to perform 200 hours of community
service.

Chrysanthos Nicholas, a New York coin
dealer, pleaded guilty to mail fraud in 2015
and was sentenced to 27 months in prison.
He was ordered to pay #250,000 in
restitution.

Harold Oliver was an Akron coin collector
charged in 1965 with seven counts of mail
fraud for offering coins he did not possess.

Earl Carlton Powell was convicted on ten
counts of mail fraud, one count of perjury
and one count of obstruction of justice. He
was charged in 1984 for making a false
claim to an insurance company of the theft
of a $110,000 non-existent coin collection.

He received a prison sentence of four years
and four months and a $25,000 fine.

Marc Rauch was president of Federal Coin
Reserve of Bayside. He was convicted in
1977 of selling coins’ that were
misrepresented or overpriced.

Sol Rauch was an attorney affiliated with
Federal Coin Reserve in New York. In 1977
he was convicted of mail fraud.

Mary Elizabeth Rivers of Des Moines was
charged with mail fraud for offering Indian
Cents at 15 for $1 or 85 for $5, with no
intention to deliver. She was described as
being 5’ 1” tall and weighing 85 pounds.
She was convicted in 1965 and sentenced to
five years in prison.

Previously she had served time in the
Federal Women’s Reformatory at Alderson,
West Virginia, for mail fraud and the State
Women’s Reformatory at Rockwell City on
charges of larceny.

Jerry Kenneth Stroud

The Los Angeles Times, July 11, 1969. Page
8

Coin dealer Jerry Kenneth Stroud, 35, of
Orange. was convicted Thursday in U. S.
District Court in Los Angeles of 22 counts
of mail fraud and using a fictitious name in
connection with a fraud.”

Stroud was attempting to sell 1893-S silver
dollars with the S mint mark added with
solder. He also placed ads under the name of
Bob Hays.

The Minnesota Problem

Author Comment: For a long time, | was
Historian for the Northwest Coin Club in
Minnesota. In 2016, | wrote “A History of
Twin Cities Coin Dealers” that was published
on the club website. That project covered
much of the same material as this current
project.

During 2004, | was employed by Minneapolis
Gold and Silver in Edina. The company’s
largest client was Investment Rarities, Inc. in
Bloomington. Our office was in the same
building as New York Mint which became
part of Asset Marketing Services LLC. | had
a general familiarity with telemarketers in
the area.

From 2007 to 2020, | was employed at Grove
Coin Company in Woodbury. | attended
public meetings related to proposed bullion
trade legislation. In 2015, | was a Certified
Bullion Coin Representative and required to

16

comply with Minnesota bullion trading
regulations.

In the 1960’s and 70’s, Minnesota was
suspecting of leading the country in the
production of whizzed coins. Whizzing was
the treatment of coins with a wire brush to
give the appearance of a higher grade. The
term may also be applied to coins treated
with a buffing wheel or some chemicals.
While giving the impression of a higher
grade, whizzing reduces the value of a coin.

A location in North Minneapolis has been
mentioned in the discussion. There have
been no prosecutions of dealers suspected of
whizzing so no names can be mentioned.

It is generally agreed that moder
numismatic telemarketing dates back to Jim
Cook who opened Investment Rarities Inc.
CRI) in 1974. They have avoided

prosecution for their business practices.
However, former employees left to set up
businesses that did get in legal trouble.

The Minneapolis Star Tribune ran a series of
articles in 2011 on fraud and corruption in
the rare coin industry. The primary reporter
was Dan Browning. He mentioned David
Marion who left IRI to form a company with
a similar name, International Rarities Corp.
(IRC). Browning reported that Marion took
the IRI customer list to get prospects.
Browning also claimed that IRC had two
dozen employees with criminal records.

Minnesota attorney general Lori Swanson
took up the cause and promoted legislation
to regulate the industry. The Minnesota
legislature passed that bill in 2013. The law
took effect July 1, 2014. It required
licensing of dealers and employees with
background checks to prevent anyone
convicted of a financial crime in the past ten
years from getting a license. It also required
dealers to obtain a $25,000 bond.

On August 31. 2022, the 8" U.S. Circuit
Court of Appeals found that Minnesota
Statute Chapter 80G violated the Dormant
Commerce Clause. The Minnesota
Department of Commerce has lost a series
of appeals and enforcement actions are on
hold. License renewals were not processed
for July 1, 2023.

The numismatic crimes of dealers generally
fall into a few types.

I. Valuation Scams: Dealers offer coins
that are over-graded and at inflated
prices. This by itself is not illegal. It can
be prosecuted when the dealer promotes
the investment potential of these coins
that are sold well above their current
value. Convicted of this were Harold
Kail (1985) and William Ulrich (1991).

Il. Non-delivery Scams: Dealers do not
pay for coins received and do net fulfill
paid orders. Convicted of this type of
crime were Masmoor Khan (1996),
Kevin Alger (2002), David Marion
(2013), Tiffany Grady (2013), Jay
Flynn (2015) and Dennis Helmer
(2015).

Ill. In a Ponzi Scheme, dealers guarantee
profits and pay off early investors with
money from later investors. This may
also be called a pyramid scheme.
Eventually the pyramid collapses and
late investors lose their money. Perhaps
the biggest Ponzi Scheme was
perpetrated by Trevor Cook with
accomplices Jason Beckman, Gerald
Durand, Jon Greco, Patrick Kiley, and
Christopher Pettingill.

IV. Money laundering happens in many
businesses. A case in Minnesota
involved company owner Jay Anderson,
sales representative Andrzkj Derezinski,
and customer Peter Miele.

V. Selling counterfeit coins is one thing.
Barry Skog sold counterfeit coins in
counterfeit PCGS slabs (2019).

Minnesota Dealers with Convictions

Kevin Richard Alger (b. 12/22/1969) was
president of Alger International Rarities in
Hill City, Minnesota. He joined the ANA in
1998.

A federal grand jury indicted him on
September 20, 2001. In April of 2002 he
pleaded guilty to five counts of mail fraud,
two counts of money laundering, one count
of interstate transportation of stolen property
and one count of engaging in a monetary
transaction in criminally derived property.

17

The Postal Inspection Service reported that
he had deposited checks from 22 investors
but failed to deliver the coins. He was
sentenced to four years and three months in
prison on August 14, 2002. He was also
ordered to pay $626,242 in restitution.

In 2023, Alger International Rarities appears
to be operating in Bloomington.

Jay B. Anderson (b.
9/29/1939 d. 11/2/2014)
was president of Northwest
Territories Gold & Silver
Exchange Corp.

In 1986 the company was -
raided by federal agents. The Minnesota
Department of Revenue filed liens against
the company in 1986 for $35,140 in unpaid
sales taxes for 1977 through 1981.

On April 4. 1990 he was indicted by a
federal grand jury on charges of conspiracy
to defraud the Internal Revenue Service. He
was accused of instructing dealers and
investors of ways to avoid federal cash
reporting requirements.

IRS investigators reported that the company
created accounts in the names of Rob Roy,
Tom Collins and Jack Daniels in one case
and Tom Thumb, Geraldine Ferraro and
Benjamin Franklin in another to conceal the
names of actual clients.

Jason Bo-Alan Beckman |
(b. 12/14/1969) a/k/a Bo
Beckman played hockey for
the Air Force Academy and
the University of Vermont.
He aspired to buy a share in
the Minnesota Wild.

He owned Oxford Private Client Group
which was affiliated with Trevor Cook.

He was indicted February 22, 2012, on
charges of mail fraud, wire fraud, conspiracy
to commit mail fraud and wire fraud and
money laundering. It was alleged that
between 2005 and November 2009, he
defrauded investors in their $194 million
foreign currency trading scheme. He was
convicted on June 12. 2012.

He was sentenced in U. S. District Court on
January 3, 2013, to 30 years in prison.

Michael W. Blodgett (b. 7/22/1944) was
president and CEO of T. G. Morgan in
Wayzata. He joined the ANA in 1984 and
1985.

Blodgett spoke at investment seminars
around the country. He sold coins at high
markups and provided false “coin portfolio

18

updates” that were unrelated to the actual

values.

On November 4, 1992, a federal grand jury
indicted Blodgett with 27 counts of mail
fraud, interstate transportation of stolen
property and wire fraud. It was alleged the
company sold coins at prices higher than
their value and promoted these as good
investments. It was claimed that he bilked
250 investors out of more than $25 million
dollars beginning in 1987.

The company filed for bankruptcy and the
assets were liquidated to pay victims.
Among the assets was a condominium in
Ley Largo, a 25-foot boat, a 1988 Mercedes
and hundreds of rare coins.

He was convicted on June 2, 1993, and
sentenced to six years and six months in
prison on October 21, 1993. He was also
ordered to pay $500,000 restitution to 250
victims.

After the trial he fired his attorneys and
charged them with mismanaging the case.

He filed appeals that were denied and some
declared to be frivolous.

He was released from prison on June 24,
1999,

Trevor Gilson Cook (b.
6/19/1972) was a salesman

with Investment Rarities, ;
Inc. Later he operated ee = 5
Oxford Global Partners. es |
One Cook entity was | ~ \ )
known as Universal ,

Brokerage Services (UBS).

He was charged in federal court on March
30, 2010, in what authorities called the
second largest investment fraud case in
Minnesota history.

Cook bought the historic Van Dusen
mansion in Minneapolis and moved his
office there in 2007.

An employee testified in court that that
drinking and smoking marijuana were
common during working hours. After hours,
prostitutes were brought in for parties.

Court papers stated that he “defrauded
investors by soliciting them to invest money
in a foreign currency trading program that
they alleged would earn a double-digit rate
of return, typically between 10.5 and 12
percent annually, with little or no risk. They
also claimed investor assets would be held
in a separate account and could be
withdrawn at any time. Those
representations were false.”

Cook’s assets included a Rolls Royce Silver
Spur, a Maserati Quattroporte, a Hummer
H2, a Jaguar S-Type, and a Mercedes Benz
420SEL.

He bought an island in Canada and a two-
person submarine to drive around the island.
Somewhere there was a 60-foot houseboat.

He pleaded guilty on April 13, 2010, and
was sentenced to 25 years in prison on April
24, 2010, for one count of mail fraud and
one count of tax evasion. He was also
ordered to pay $158 million in restitution.

In 2023 he is in federal prison in Beaumont,
Texas.

In 2020, the receiver closed the books on
recovery efforts. They recovered assets of
$21.7 million, and after expenses, returned
$11.7 million to 700 investors who had
collectively lost $194 million. That is a
return rate of about 8%.

Andrzej Derezinski (b. 4/24/1944) was a
Polish Alpine skier who participated in the
1964 Olympics. He defected from Poland in
1970. In 1975 he was a skiing coach at
Afton Alps. In 1977 he owned an Edina ski
shop.

In 1986 he was a broker working with
Northwest Territories Gold & Silver
Exchange Corp.

It was alleged that between February and
June 1986, he counseled Peter Meile to
structure cash transactions to avoid financial
reporting requirements. Another employee
alerted authorities in the belief that Meile
was concealing profits from drug dealing.

He was indicted by a federal grand jury on
April 4. 1990, on charges of conspiracy to
defraud the Internal Revenue Service.

19

In 2000, he was a skiing coach in Montana.

Gerald Joseph Durand (b. 3/30/1951) was
at one time sales manager at Investment
Rarities, Inc. He joined Trevor Cook at
Oxford Global Advisors.

Durand promoted Cook’s foreign currency
investment program with infomercials on
AM radio and a Christiam shortwave
network.

While working for Treavor Cook, he was
charged on February 22, 2012, with wire
fraud, mail fraud, conspiracy to commit mail
and wire fraud, and money laundering. This
was related to Cook’s foreign currency
trading program. He was convicted on June
12. 2012.

It was alleged that Durand proposed to
Christopher Pettingill that they arrange to
have Bo Beckman killed to collect on his
$2.5 million life insurance policy.

He was sentenced in U. S. District Court on
January 3, 2013, to 20 years in prison and
$155 million restitution.

Michael Kevin Fitzpatrick (b. 5/28/1960 d.
4/25/2016) was born in Manhattan and
attended the UN International School. He
was married three times.

He was arrested in 1993 in the apartment of
Harlan Rosenfeld. He worked for Rosenthal
at International Rarities Group. He also
worked for Premier Investments in Apple
valley. Although he qualifies as a Minnesota
coin dealer, he is much better known for
exploits outside of the field.

He was a New York classmate of Qubilah
Shabazz, daughter of Malcolm X. at the U.
N. International School.

Fitzgerald joined the Jewish Defense League
in 1976. In 1977, he was convicted of
throwing a pipe bomb into a _ Soviet
bookstore. To reduce the charges, he became
a government informant.

In 1995, Shabazz hired Fitzgerald to kill
Louis Farrakhan who she blamed for the
assassination of her father. She was unaware
that Fitzgerald was an FBI informant who
was recording their conversations.

He died of liver failure in Scottsdale,
Arizona.

Jay Philip Flynn (b. 12/7/1963) a/k/a
Nathan Johnson, worked with Tory Hughes
at Reputable Rare Coins in Roseville. He is
a cousin of Jamie Smith.

He was charged in U. S. District Court of
defrauding elderly customers out of nearly
$345,000. The presiding judge noted that he
had a prior history of armed robbery, drug
possession, drug trafficking, check forgery
and domestic assault.

On July 23, 2015, he was sentenced to 52
months in prison, ordered to pay $200,000
in back child support payments and
$324,949 restitution to clients. He was
released from prison on July 18, 2018.

Tiffany Norwood Grady (b. 7//1966)
operated from home as the Stella Group.

In November 2012, she was ordered to stop
operations by Minnesota Attorney General
Lori Swanson, In May of 2013 she was
ordered to pay back $520,000 to her
customers.

She was charged in federal court in March,
2015, with wire fraud. She was charged with
taking money from clients between April
2011 and August 2012 but not delivering the
merchandise.

Sentenced to 24 months in prison, she was
released from prison on September 23, 2017.

Jon Jason Greco (b. 8/5/1970) was accused
of helping Trevor Cook to conceal assets.
These included $10,000 in U. S. currency,
foreign currency and precious metal coins.
He lied to federal investigators that he had
no knowledge of these assets on June 24,
2010. It was alleged that Greco placed assets
in a locker at the Mall of America, which
were later found to be worth about
$150.000.

He was indicted on March 13, 2011, and
pleaded guilty in U. S. District Court to two
counts of making false statements to federal
agents. In November he was sentenced to
ten months in prison.

20

Robert Earl Gundy (b.
10/26/1958) worked in the

past for several firms
including International
Rarities Group, Midas

Resources, PFG Coin and

i |
Bullion, American International Gold and
Silver Exchange, and S & F Commodities.
He was the owner of Crescent Equities in
Minneapolis.

In 2003 he was sued by Midas Resources in
Eagan for cheating Midas customers. They
received a $41,228 judgement against
Gundy.

In March of 2012 he received a 14 month
prison sentence for writing bad checks.

He pleaded guilty to a single charge of mail
fraud. He admitted to stealing $421,000
from clients. A Hennepin County district
court sentenced him to 46 months in prison.
He served in Ohio at Elkton Federal
Correctional Institution and was released on
November 7, 2018.

Raymond Francis
Hanisco (b. 9/19/1950 d.
1/11/2014) was a salesman
with Twin Cities Gold and
Silver Exchange in
Plymouth. He left in 2009
to join Schaun Waste as co-
owners of Guardian Gold
and Silver Exchange.

He joined the ANA in 1989 and was
expelled in 2007.

Hanisco and the company were charged with
bilking elderly customers on sales of coins
and bullion. The company filed for
bankruptcy in October 2012 with debts of
$1.7 million.

Schaun Waste was prosecuted but by then
Hanisco was dead.

Dennis Charles Helmer (b. 2/3/1961)
worked for National Rarities in the 1990’s.
When he left, he took the company call list
with him.

In 2002 he was charged and convicted of
two counts of theft by swindle.

In 2006 he worked for a firm called Best
Price. He was charged with swindling more
than $70,000 from a 92-year-old California
man.

His new company was Wholesale Assets
Worldwide. LLC (WAW). He also used the
names Jeff Jones, Dennis Dimon and :Mr.
Diamond.

The U. S. District Court indictment stated,
“From November 2009 to December 2013,
Through WAW, Helmer contacted
individuals, many whom were elderly, and
persuaded them to send him money, coins,
and precious metals, based on his false
promises to provide money or coins in
return. Some victims also relied on Helmer
to provide safe storage for their coins. As
part of the scheme, Helmer intentionally
misled customers about the size and stability
of his business, including providing them
with copies of a false “Dun and Bradstreet
Credibility Report,” and stating that WAW
had 75 employees and $500 million annual
revenue.

According to court documents, WAW
received over $1,2 million in coins, precious
metals, and cash from victims, instead of
fulfilling their orders, Helmer sold many of
the coins and used customer money and
proceeds from these sales to fulfill other
orders, make payments to other customers,
pay his own personal expenses, and attempt
to fund start-up costs for another company,
Smoke Shack, Inc.”

After learning of the indictment, In January
2014, he moved operations to Florida and
formed Best Price International.

He was sentenced in 2015 to 150 months in
prison and ordered to pay $1,329,873.25
restitution.

Helmer was released from federal prison on
July 25, 2023.

Tory Evan Hughes (b. 12/8/1969) operated
Reputable Rare Coins (RRC) in Roseville.

Minnesota Attorney General Lori Swanson
filed suit in Hennepin County District Court
on February 14, 2011. He was charged with
mail fraud. He was charged with stealing

21

more than $600,000 in cash and coins from
customers. He failed to appear in court and
was later arrested in Arizona.

He moved to Gilbert, Arizona, in November
2013. There he operated U. S. Collectibles
and stole more than $100,000 from
customers. He was sentenced to 71 months
in prison. He was released on August 28,
2020.

Harold Berman Kail (b. 2/27/1952) was
owner of the Coin and Stamp Gallery, Inc. in
St. Louis Park. He had worked for
Investment Rarities Inc. but left in August
1983 and hired several former IRI salesmen
to open his own company.

On March 7, 1984, U. S. District Court
judge Miles Lord issued a_ temporary
restraining order blocking mail to the firm.

He was indicted by a federal grand jury on
September 20, 1984, on charges of grossly
overcharging customers for old coins. He
was convicted in May of 15 counts of mail
fraud and ordered to pay $501,738 in
restitution. He was sentenced in June to
seven years in prison.

This was a landmark case that established
that the industry had grading standards and a
company could be _ prosecuted for
exaggerating the grades of coins sold.

Masroor Ahmad Khan (b. 2/22/1970) was
from the United Kingdom. He hired sales
brokers with customer lists from other firms
and operated National Rarities of Apple
Valley during 1995 and 1996.

He was charged in Dakota County District
court on May 9, 1996. He failed to return
coins sent for appraisal or pay for the coins.
He accepted money for coin orders but did
not fulfill those orders.

There were 40 to 50 victims with losses of
$500,000. He pleaded guilty in September
1996 to four counts of theft
by swindle and one count
of theft in 1996.

Patrick Joseph Kiley was
the host of “Follow the
Money” broadcast over a
Christian network of 200

short-wave radio stations. He was associated
with Universal Brokerage and worked with
Oxford Global Advisors.

He was charged on July 20. 2011. He was
sentenced to 240 months in federal prison on
12 counts of wire and mail fraud, one count
of conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud
and two counts of money laundering.

In 2013 he charged his attorney with
mishandling his defense.

He was in prison at the Federal Medical
Center in Rochester and released May 18,
2021.

Scott Michael Luther (55 in 2018) was the
owner of Luther Rare Coins (LRC Coins) of
Minneapolis.

He was charged in 2018 with mail fraud and
money laundering in the sale of more than
$1.5 million in coins between 2010 and
2013. He pleaded guilty on June 8, 2021,
and sentenced to time served.

In response to an appeal, the court stated:
“Luther is one of the most dishonest and
manipulative defendants that this court has
ever encountered; since long before he was
indicted, he has done everything within his
power to delay and manipulate these
proceedings.”

David Laurence Marion (b. 1960) bought
International Rarities Group and renamed it
International Rarities Corporation (IRC) in
Excelsior. The Star Tribune reported they
had more than a dozen employees with
criminal records. He joined the ANA in
1989.

He had been a registered NASD securities
broker but in 1991 he was fined, censured
and barred for executing transactions
without authorization.

He admitted that between December 2010
and August 2011 he received more than $2
million in coins and money from customers
but never fulfilled orders.

Also, as president of International Rarities
Holdings (RH) he sold shares in the
company as securities. However, he was not
registered with the Security and Exchange

22

Commission as a_ security trader. He
collected $1 million from 26 investors. His
gambling losses were $197,419.

He was sentenced on August 29, 2013, to 60
months in prison for one count of conspiracy
to commit mail and wire fraud and one
count of money laundering. He served at
Duluth Federal Prison Camp and was
released on March 3, 2017.

Christopher Pettengill (b.
12/22/1956) joined Trevor
Cook and Gerald Durand as
financial advisor for Oxford
Global Advisors in 2007.
Durand and Pettingill split
from Cook in 2008.

He was charged in U. S. District Court on
June 13, 2011, with one count of securities
fraud, one count of conspiracy to commit
wire fraud and one count of money
laundering. He pleaded guilty on June 21,
2011.

On January 3, 2013, he was sentenced to 7/2
years in prison.

Ron Peterson was an alias for Barry Ron
Skog.

Harlan J. Rosenfeld (b 7/23/1963 d.
4/18/2000) was the founder of International
Rarities Group. In 2012 an article in the Star
Tribune claimed that the company employed
at least two dozen salespeople with criminal
records.

In November 1993 police pulled him over in
a traffic stop. He was charged with
possession of cocaine found in the car. Four
days later police raided his apartment and
confiscated a 1989 Mercedez Benz, $24,000
in cash, gold jewelry and 106 gold coins. He
forfeited the property in September 1994.

When brought to trial, he claimed double
jeopardy in that the forfeiture was already a
strict penalty for the crime. The trial judge
dismissed the charges on May 3, 1995. The
Minnesota Court of Appeals reinstated the
charges in December.

He was charged in Hennepin County with
drug charges and not numismatic crimes.

He died of a drug overdose in 2000.

Barry Ron Skog (b.
9/3/1950) was the sole
proprietor of Burnsville
Coin Company. He
advertised coins for sale |
through Numismatic News.

Court documents state: “In
2003, Skog, a life-long rare
coin enthusiast, opened a business in
Burnsville, Minnesota, which engaged in the
sale of rare coins. Skog utilized the United
States Postal Service to mail inventory lists
to prospective customers and to mail coins
purchased by customers. In 2006, the Better
Business Bureau and local police began
receiving complaints that Skog was selling
counterfeit coins. In 2010, Skog was sued in
federal court by Professional Coin Grading
Service (PCGS), a manufacturer of tamper-
proof plastic coin holders which are used in
the industry to verify coins as authentic, for
using imitation PCGS coin holders to
defraud customers with counterfeit coins.
Skog was enjoined from selling counterfeit
coins or using real or imitation PCGS
holders. Nevertheless, from 2012 to 2015,
Skog sold counterfeit coins using the United
States Postal Service. When law
enforcement officers executed a _ search
warrant for Skog's home, they found
hundreds of counterfeit coins along with
genuine PCGS coin holders. Two-hundred-
and-seventy-five of the coins had been
advertised as genuine in lists mailed to
customers. If genuine, the coins would have
been worth hundreds of thousands of
dollars.”

He pleaded guilty on February 21, 2019, toa
counterfeit coin fraud scheme. On July 9.
2019, and was sentenced to 30 months in
prison.

Jamie Lee Smith (b. 1976) operated
American Platinum Gold and Silver in St
Louis Park and American Independent Gold
& Silver Inc, in Robbinsdale before 2014.

In 2012 he settled a lawsuit with an
agreement that he would not engage in
deceptive, fraudulent or misleading coin
sales or appraisals.

23

He moved his business to Hudson,
Wisconsin, after Minnesota banned former
felons from the bullion trading industry.

On November 29, 2018, in U. S. District
Court in Madison, Wisconsin, he was
indicted on 23 counts of wire fraud, mail
fraud and making a false statement on a loan
application.

In December 2019 he was sentenced to 4.5
years in federal prison, He was ordered to
pay $1,137.099 in restitution.

Michael Kevin Summers was an alias for
Michael Kevin Fitzpatrick.

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William Ulrich
President-Central Coin Exchange

William Ulrich - 1980 ad in The Numismatist

William James Ulrich, Jr. (b. 8/23/1948)

was a second-generation Minneapolis coin
dealer. He joined his father at American
Coin Co. by 1971. Later he was the
proprietor of Central Coin Exchange and
Security Rare Coin and Bullion Corp. They
opened their office in Shelard Plaza in 1983

and went out of business in 1989. At one
time they had as many as a_ hundred
employees.

Angela Corp was the parent firm for
Security and was owned 70% by Ulrich and
30% by his daughters.

Security was investigated in 1986 for
alleged fraud of 50 million dollars for
selling overgraded coins. The company
signed a consent order to refrain from
fraudulent practices.

Ulrich had a home in Orono on Lake
Minnetonka. A newspaper had this
description:

“Built in 1986 at an estimated cost of $6
million. The home has a 20-by-30-foot
master bedroom with a _ 13-by-27-foot
alcove. It has six other bedrooms, plus a 20-
by-40-foot handball court. There also is an
indoor swimming pool with a slide that
sends bathers plunging into the water from
the second floor. There is a bomb shelter and
a soundproof shooting range.”

Authorities claimed the firm promoted coin
sales at inflated prices and guaranteed
profits that could never be realized.

In 1990. A district judge ordered Ulrich to
pay $11,185,848 as restitution to 25,000
investors who bought coins between 1985
and 1986.

In August 1991, Ulrich was charged with
racketeering. A federal grand jury indicted
him on 15 counts of mail fraud.

In 1993, it was charged that Ulrich’s law
firm, Larkin, Hoffman, Daly and Lindgren
helped to fraudulently transfer $1 million in
rare coins into trusts for his daughters.

National City Bank was charged with
conspiring with the law firm.

In May 1991, Ulrich pleaded guilty of
racketeering. He was sentenced to six years
in prison on Friday the thirteenth of
September in 1991.

He served his prison time in Sandstone,
Minnesota, and was released from prison on
April 7, 1995.

24

In May of 1995, Bill’s wife Mary
incorporated Goldstar Estate Buyers Corp.

Ulrich was called a_ consultant for
Professional Estate Buyers Group which
was a trade name of Goldstar Estate Buyers
Corp. They operated with a group of
specialists in various fields who were buying
for themselves and not for Ulrich.

Schaun Keven Waste (b. 12/20/1964) had
been office manager for Twin Cities Gold
and Silver (TCGS). He and Ray Hanisco
were co-owners of Guardian Gold & Silver
Exchange in Plymouth from 2009 to 2013.

TCGS sued Guardian claiming that they had
taken the TCGS mailing list and used it to
recruit customers. Guardian settled for
$35,000 in 2010 but violated the agreement
by continuing to use the list.

He was charged by Minnesota Attorney
General Lori Swanson with bilking elderly
customers in sales of coins and bullion.

A Hennepin County judge ordered Waste in
December 2015 to pay $2 million in
restitution and barred him from working in
the industry for life.

Jeffrey Paul Wolfbauer
(b. 11/23/1967) is a cousin
of Ronald Wolfbauer and
owner of Twin Cities Gold
and Silver Exchange. He
employed a dozen people
with criminal records.

He was convicted of fourth
degree sexual assault in 1992. He has other
convictions for gross misdemeanors. He has
moved to Arizona.

Ronald Gary Wolfbauer (b. 1/8/1962) was
owner of International Strategic Assets, Inc.
In 1990 he married Dawn Marie Erickson.

He was sentenced in 2006 to two years in
prison and released on January 11, 2008. He
was ordered to pay $1,760,000 in restitution.
In 2008 he returned to work for Investment
Rarities Inc.

Dawn Wolfbauer started Nature’s Prime
Organic Foods while Ron was in prison. In
2011 the company wrote $40,000 in bad

checks for sponsors of the Basilica Block
Party. Customer reviews were terrible.

Minnesota Enforcement Actions

During the period from January 1, 2015,
through January 2022, the Minnesota
Department of Commerce issued 83
enforcement actions against bullion dealers.
Out-of-state dealers were cited 49 times
while Minnesota dealers were cited 34
times.

Of the out-of-state actions, 45 were for
failure to register or conducting transactions
while not registered. Only four were for
actual violation of the regulations.

For the Minnesota actions, seventeen were
for failure to register and seventeen were
actual violations. Eight dealers were banned
from the industry.

The Department of Commerce issued
consent decrees and assessed civil penalties
from $250 to $250.000. Some Minnesota
violators also faced criminal prosecution and
prison sentences.

Theodore Anderson was employed with
Midas Resources.

The Department of Commerce charged on
November 3. 2015, “MRI, Anderson and
Huebner engaged in acts and practices that
demonstrate they are incompetent,
financially irresponsible, and otherwise
unqualified to act under the authority of the
Commissioner...”

The Department revoked Anderson’s license
and prohibited registration for two years. It
ordered MRI to pay restitution and pay a
$100,000 civil penalty.

Leonard Lee Barber (9/1960) was the
owner of Barber Coins and Collectibles in
Lakeville and a registered Minnesota bullion
dealer but did not renew their license after
June 30, 2019. He continued to do business
after expiration of the license.

The Department of Commerce charged on
June 9, 2021, that Barber did not pay for
coins purchased or deliver coins sold. In a
consent agreement, the state revoked the

25

license and ordered Barber to cease
operations other than repayment to victims.
It assessed a civil penalty of $70,000.

David Davenport was a licensed bullion
coin dealer representative employed by
Asset Marketing Services LLC (AMS).

The Commerce Department charged him on
March 30, 2017, with misrepresenting the
investment potential for a coin. His license
was revoked and he was assessed a civil
penalty of $5000.

The Commerce Department charged Asset
Marketing staff with inadequate supervision
of their employee. They were assessed a
$30,000 penalty.

Asset Marketing Service provided a full
refund to the estate of the victim.

Justin Luis Domnitz was the owner of
Presidential Precious Metals LLC (PPM), a
registered Minnesota coin bullion dealer.

The Commerce Department charged om
August 11. 2016, that they 1) improperly
withheld, misappropriated and converted
money received, and 2) engaged in various
acts demonstrating they are untrustworthy,
financially irresponsible of otherwise
incompetent or unqualified to act, and 3)
refused to allow reasonable inspections of
records.

Their license was revoked, they were
permanently banned and they were ordered
to pay a $30,000 penalty.

Scott K. Fredin was not charged under a
company name. However, he was working
for Bullion Exchange Services LLC,

The Department of Commerce charged him
on July 24. 2017, with dealing in bullion
coins without a license. He was also charged
with misrepresenting the grade of coins sold.

He was banned from conducting business
that would require registration and assessed
a $10,000 civil penalty.

Dennis Charles Helmer operated
Wholesale assets Worldwide under the name
of Jeff Jones.

The Commerce Department charged on
January 14, 2015, “respondent has engaged
in false, deceptive, and misleading practices
in the selling and buying of bullion coins
from November 2009 until approximately
January 2014 resulting in a loss to
consumers of at least $1,200.000.”
Additional charges go on for pages.

The Commerce Department used the 2014
law to charge for violations that occurred
before passage of the law.

Helmer was permanently banned from
bullion trading activities in Minnesota and
assess a civil penalty of $250,000.

He moved his operations to Florida. The U.
S. District Court also convicted him,
sentenced him to 150 months and ordered
restitution.

Scott Michael Luther was owner of Luther
Rare Coins and conducted bullion business
without a license and without licensed
bullion coin dealer representatives as
salesmen.

The Commerce Department charged on
April 25, 2016, that 1) They offered secure
storage for customer coins, 2) they
converted $1.3 million in customer coins
and used the funds for operating expenses.

The company was ordered to cease and
desist and pay a penalty of $250,000.

Kimberly A. Malkow was owner of
Angelic Precious Metals LLC in Richfield
and a licensed Minnesota bullion dealer.

The Commerce Department charged on
August 1. 2016, that she acted as a straw
dealer to allow another unlicensed dealer to
buy, sell and trade bullion coins. Her license
was revoked and she was banned from
further dealing. She was also ordered to pay
a civil penalty of $10,000.

26

Ira V. Sims was the owner of Bullion
Exchange Service LLC and a _ licensed
Bullion Coin Dealer representative.

The Commerce Department charged on
February 2. 2016, that he allowed an
employee to substitute cleaned coins for
promised BU coins. He also did not respond
to Commerce Department complaints.

The license for the firm was revoked and
Sims’ individual license was revoked. He
was issued a cease and desist order and
ordered to pay a civil penalty of $50,000.

Barry Ron Skog was owner of Burnsville
Coin Company. He was not registered as a
Minnesota bullion dealer.

The Department of Commerce charged him
on April 11, 2019, with dealing in bullion
without a license. He was charged by the
state, not for counterfeiting, but for false,
deceptive and misleading practices.

He was ordered to cease and desist any
further violations and assessed a civil
penalty of $50,000.

Jamie Lee Smith was the owner of
American Independent Gold and Silver, Inc.
(AIGS), American Platinum Gold and
Silver, Inc. (APGS) and American Gold &
Silver, Inc.

The Department of Commerce charged him
on December 13. 2019, with several
violations of the bullion trading laws. 1) He
failed to register one of his companies. 2)
He sold off coins that he was supposed to
keep in storage for a customer. 3) He did not
store customer coins as promised and did
not return then as requested. Instead, he sold
off some of the coins and attempted to
replace them with inferior coins. 4) He
misrepresented the investment value of
coins and failed to pay for customers coins
that he sold. 5) He used business funds for
personal expenses and a company credit
card for personal purchases.

In a 2019 consent order, Smith was banned
from doing further bullion business in the
State of Minnesota and assessed a penalty of
$100,000.

He moved his business to Hudson,
Wisconsin, where he faced criminal charges,

conviction and received a prison sentence.

Money Laundering

Ronald W. Bernstein, Grant Boshoff and
Lawrence Spencer worked at Bernstein,
McCaffrey & Lee.

They were arrested in December 1989 in an
IRS sting operation. The phony buyers
claimed to be a bookie with proceeds from
illegal gambling. The three were convicted
of federal money laundering charges

Mark Chrans was convicted of fraud and
perjury in a case that involved concealment
of Cocaine profits in 1981.

He was hired as a manager for Tom Noe.

Leon Hendrickson
(1926-2017) was a
well-respected and
honored dealer with
Silvertown Coin
Shop in Winchester,
Indiana. He was
president of the
National Silver
Dollar Roundtable
1991-1992. He was
president of the Central States Numismatic
Society 1986 to 1998 and President of
P.N.G. 1985 to 1989.

He received an ANA Medal of Merit in
1990. In 1991, he was named a Numismatic
News Numismatic Ambassador.

Leon Hendrickson

He was convicted of eight counts of money
laundering in 1993 and sentenced to five
months in prison.

Also convicted in the case were David J,
Hendrickson, son of Leon, and Stanley R.
Hendrickson, Leon’s brother.

Silvertown sold gold coins to trend Precious
Metals, a company owned by Stephen
Saccoccia.

Walter Perschke (1939-2016) was born in
McHenry, Illinois. He bought a Brasher
Doubloon and put it on a national tour in

27

1987. He also
owned a 1783 Nova
Constelatio Type II
pattern.

He was indicted for
smuggling
Australian gold
coins into the U. S.
in 1969. He pleaded
guilty and paid a fine of $2500. He received
a three-year suspended sentence.

Walter Perschke

He made two cash sales over $10,000 to an
IRS undercover agent and failed to fill out
the proper forms. He pleaded guilty and was
sentenced to six months in prison in 1992.

He died in Chicago.

Stephen Saccoccia was affiliated with
Saccoccia Coin Co. and Trend Precious
Metals in Cranston, RI, and International
Metal and Clinton Import/Export in Los
Angeles. He was sentenced in 1993 to 660
years in prison for laundering millions of
dollars for Columbia drug lords. In 2024, he
is at Coleman Penitentiary in Florida.

Saccoccia received bundles of cash from the
drug dealers. He used the cash to make
undocumented purchases of gold. That gold
was sold to legitimate buyers who paid with
cashier’s checks that could be deposited in
various banks.

By November 1991, fifty people had been
charged in the case.

Donna Saccoccia, Stephen’s wife, was
convicted of one count of conspiracy and 50
counts of falsifying bank records. She was
sentenced to 14 years in prison and released
in 2004.

Barry Slomovits, a New Yok diamond
dealer, was indicted in the case. He became
a government witness for the prosecution.

Jose Duvan Arboleda Gonzalea represented
the Cali Cartel. He was indicted but out of
reach in Bogota, Columbia.

Richard William Rosenbaum

Detroit Free Press, December 26, 1993,
page 22.

“Birmingham coin dealer Richard William
Rosenbaum won a $3.1 million police
brutality case in federal court in Detroit in
1988.

In the same courthouse Monday, a jury
convicted him for his role in a money
laundering scam that involved two people
authorities described as organized crime
figures.

Rosembaum who sold Birmingham Stamps
and Coins last year, was acquitted on the
more serious charges of money laundering.”

Attempted Murder

Claude Russell Wise II was sentenced to 15
years in prison for the August 4. 1988,
attempted murder of Randy Block. Charges
included attempted murder, possession of a
weapon for an unlawful purpose, aggravated
assault, and possession of hollow-tipped
bullets.

Randy Block was the owner of Raab Coin
Shop in Flemington. New Jersey. He was
shot in the shoulder during an argument in
his shop.

Murder — Killers and Accomplices

Seifullah Abdul-
Salaam was convicted
of killing New
Cumberland,

Pennsylvania, police

officer Willis John Cole
in 1994. He was given
the death penalty.

His death penalty was
overturned in 2018. The
case remained active in
August 2023.

Kenneth Derek Allender (1945- ) went on
trial for the 1975 murder of Emmet Jeffreys
in St. Petersburg, Florida. He was charged
with attempted robbery and _ first-degree
murder.

Seifullah Abdul-Salaam

The defense claimed that, although Allender
participated in planning the robbery, he
backed out at the last minute and tried to
stop it. Prosecutors claimed he then had the
responsibility to call police or warn the
victim. The jury acquitted him of the
charges.

28

He was returned to Madison, Wisconsin, to
face drug charges in an unrelated case.

Lynwood Scott Anderson was convicted of
second-degree murder in the 1994 case of
police officer Willis John Cole. He was
sentenced to life in prison.

John Steven Barnes was born on April 5,
1961.

He was arrested in the 1980 death of Walter
F. Nickerson. He turned states witness
against Arthur David Mirabal who was
sentenced to life in prison. After his
testimony, Barnes was released on five years
probation.

In 1982, Barnes was arrested for breaking
into a house through the doggie door to steal
silverware, jewelry, credit cards and coins.
He was caught with a pillow case bulging
with loot.

While out on bail, he returned to break into
the same house again and stole property
worth $25,000.

For these burglaries, he was sentenced to six
years and eight months in state prison.

He died on October 26, 1995.

Michael Scott Behn was born on July 3.
1967.

He was charged, convicted and sentenced to
life in prison in 1997 for the 1995 death of
Robert C. Rose.

In 2005, the conviction was overturned and
he was granted a new trial. At the first trial,
the prosecution introduced a report from the
FBI linking lead from the murder bullets to
lead bullets in Behn’s possession. Such
identification was determined to be faulty
and the FBI stopped using such tests.

In 2007, he was again convicted and
sentenced to life in prison.

In 2023 he is in New Jersey State Prison.

Kayla Kristina
Blankenship (1996-_ )
was sentenced to 45
years in prison for the
2020 murder of
Indianapolis coin dealer
Paul Edmunds.

In 2023, she is at New
River Valley Regional
Jail in Dublin, Virginia.

Charles Michael Breon

(1943- ) was charged with armed robbery in
the 1972 case of Willis Smith of East
Liverpool. Ohio. He pleaded guilty and was
sentenced to 25 years in prison.

Clyde Therone Walker Burns (1940-1992)
was born in Clay County, Texas, on
September 2, 1940. He married Tanya Ann
Thompson on February 20, 1966. They had
a son seven months later. He married Peggy
A. McIntosh on September 24, 1971. They
had a daughter nine months later. He and
Peggy were divorced on October 24, 1976,
after he was charged with murder.

On December 21, 1974, Burns broke into
Metallic Development Corp of Wichita,
Falls. He took more than $25,000 worth of
gold, silver and palladium.

Kayla Blankenship

29

On March 11, 1975, he was arrested and
charged with burglary at Buz Sawyer Coins.
A hole had been cut in the wall and an alarm
system activated. Burns was found with a
duffel bag full of silver coins.

He admits to committing 150 to 200
burglaries during 1955 to 1975. He received
a twenty years sentence for his involvement
in the 1975 death of James Keith.

Burns died on April 27, 1992.

David Robert Campbell was implicated in
the 2003 death of Jordan Allgood. He
pleaded guilty and was sentenced to five
years to life.

Christopher M. Caudill was the brother of
James and charged as an accessory in the
2015 murder of John M. Turner. He had an
extensive criminal record.

James Matthew Caudill (1994- ) was born
in Lawrence, Kentucky, on November 25,
1994.

He was convicted in the 2015 murder of
John M. Turner in Austin, Indiana. He was
sentenced to 85 years in prison.

Patricia A. Caudill was the mother of
James and charged as an accessory in the
2015 murder of John M. Turner.

Paul Chambers pleaded guilty’ to
manslaughter in the 1972 death of William
Rue. His sentence was one to twenty years
but he was released after just four months.

Joseph W. Chesnulavich (20 yo in 1966/
1946) pleaded guilty of manslaughter in the
1966 murder of Mary E. Hamilton, 73, who
was found dead in her third-floor apartment.
For this crime he was sentenced to 10-20
years in prison.

He also pleaded guilty of second-degree
murder for beating and cutting the throat of
his cousin, Barbara Ann Comeau. A coin
collection worth a hundred dollars was
taken. For this crime he was sentenced to
life in prison.

He committed suicide while in Walpole
Prison on January 9, 1973.

Benjamin Franklin Christian pleaded
guilty to hindering the apprehension of a
murder suspect in the 1984 case of Darrell
M. Robinson.

In 1985, Christian was charged with
possession of explosives and a machine gun.

He received a two-year sentence to be
served consecutively with a _ previous
sentence.

James Timothy Clotfelter (1953-2014) was
born on July 18, 1953.

He pleaded guilty to first degree murder in
the 1984 death of Roger Kirby and was
sentenced to life in prison.

He died in Knoxville in 2014.

Winford John Conley was convicted in the
1972 death of William Rue. He was
sentenced to life in prison and was released
after seventeen years and five months.

Kimberly Carol Conner was a model and
aspiring actress. She was charged with
murder, armed robbery, grand theft, burglary
and unlawful flight to avoid prosecution in
the 1975 death of John H. Stillman. In
September of 1975 she was sentenced to life
in prison.

Ronald Cooper was owner of Numismatic
Gallery in Harrisburg, PA. He was charged
with conspiracy in the 1971 death of
Raymond J. Ferns. He was released for two
days to process orders received at the shop.
He received a sentence of 6 to 15 years.

Ginger Lee Cox was the girlfriend of James
Caudill and charged as an accessory in the
2015 murder of John M. Turner

Joseph D. Crane (45 yo in 1972/1927) was
charged with the 1972 murder of Willis
Smith. His October 1975 trial ended in a
mistrial when a jury could not reach a
decision. In his second trial in November
1975, he was convicted and sentenced to life
in prison.

Donald Everett Cronk (1955- ) was
suspected of involvement in the 1980
murder of coin dealer James Milton Allen.
He was wounded during the robbery and

30

not
the

sought medical treatment. He was
quickly located and _ placed on
Sacramento Bees Secret Witness list.

He was taken into custody while working at
a carnival at the Minidoka County
Fairgrounds in Idaho in July 1981.

Crock made a plea agreement to avoid a
death penalty, On June 8, 1983, he was
sentenced to 27 years to life in state prison.

Powell Clayton Crosby (1924-1977) was
charged as an accomplice in the murder of
Ray Yablun. He committed suicide on
September 15, 1977.

Joseph P. Cruz (28 yo in 1993/1965) was
arrested with stolen property from Fremont
coin dealer Ron Miller.

Earl Howard Culwell (1942-2006) was
born on July 21, 1942. He was the former
owner of the Zero Lounge in Wichita Falls.
He had a record long enough for two people
with the same name.

In 1958 he stabbed and killed his stepfather
with a kitchen knife. In 1959, a jury
determined that he was not a delinquent
juvenile.

In 1976 he was arrested and charged with
burglary.

He was married to Janie in 1961 and
divorced in 1975, married to Peggy in 1968
and divorced in 1981; married to Lola in
1983; and married to Judy in 1992.
Somewhere along the way he had children
with various wives.

He was part of a burglary ring that was
implicated in the 1975 death of James
Keith.

Culwell died on April 25, 2006. His obituary
had nothing but good things to say about
him.

Damien Cuomo (1961-1989) was born on
September 10, 1961.

He was an accomplice of Gary Charles
Evans in the 1989 murder of coin dealer
Douglas J. Berry in Watertown, NewYork.

On December, 27, 1989, Evans shot and
killed Cuomo to keep him from talking.

Stephen DiSantis (1949-2002) was born on
January 31, 1949, in Sacramento, California.
On February 21, 1981, he married Gaila J.
Ball.

His prior convictions included grand theft
auto and receiving stolen property in 1967,
first degree robbery in 1973, escape from
state prison in 1975, and robbery with use of
a firearm in 1977.

He was charged in the 1981 death of Edward
Everett Davis. He was convicted and
sentenced to death in 1986. A 1992 appeal
was denied.

He died in prison of natural causes on March
2. 2002.

Ryan Anthony Efird was
November 20, 1968.

born on

He was arrested, charged and convicted of
first-degree murder in the 2013 case of
Albemarle, North Carolina, coin dealer
Eldred Roger Gibson.

In 2023 he is serving out a life sentence in
Central Prison, North Carolina.

Forest Leon Ethington (1938-2019) was
born in Dallas on November 2. 1938. He
married Kathleen Phillips on July 22, 1963
and their son was born in 1968. They were
divorced on June 6, 2001.

He was implicated but never charged in the
disappearance and 1984 murder of William
Arthur Fiegener.

He was implicated in the 1985 murder of
Robert Rosberg. In 1987 he was convicted
of aggravated robbery with a deadly
weapon. On February 17, 1987, he was
sentenced to life in prison.

His crimes were not limited to burglary and
murder. In 2010, he was convicted of
aggravated sexual assault of a child.

Ethington died in prison in October of 2019.

Gary Charles Evans was born in Troy,
New York, on October 7. 1954.

31

On January 13,
1977, he was
sentenced to Clinton
Correctional
Facility for a
burglary. He was
paroled on March
31, 1980.

He scaled the wall
of the Rensselaer
County jail and
escaped on June 12, 1980.

On February 15, 1985, he burglarized a flea
market with his partner Michael Falco who
disappeared.

Gary Charles Evans

He admitted to police that he killed his
childhood friend, Michael Falco, in 1985.
He buried Falco in a swamp near Lake
Worth, Florida.

On September 8, 1989, he and Damien
Coumo robbed and killed coin dealer
Douglas J. Berry,

On December 27, 1989, Evans killed Cuomo
and buried his body.

On October 17, 1991 he robbed and killed
coin dealer Gregory Jouban in Little Falls,
New York.

On March 20, 1994, he stole a valuable copy
of Audubon’s Birds of America from a
Woodstock, New York, library. After this, he
was released from prison on June 6, 1996.

On October 3. 1997, Evans killed his partner
Timothy Rysedorph and cut him up with a
chain saw.

On August 14, 1998, he was _ being
transported to the Rensselaer County jail in
a prison van. He was wearing handcuffs and
leg shackles but managed to kick out a
window of the van,

He jumped out of the window and over the
guardrail of the Troy-Menands bridge into
the Hudson River and to his death.

Alton Woodruff Fancher Jr. (1951-2017)
was born on August 24, 1951. He was
married with a daughter.

He conducted burglaries at the direction of
James F. LeBus. He was implicated in the
1975 death of James Keith. He received a
prison sentence of 5 to 12 years.

He died on May 10, 2017.

Alfio Anthony Ferro (1918-1993) was born
in New York City on June 25, 1918. He
worked as a gypsy cab driver and worked at
a used furniture store and for a moving
company and identified targets for robbery.

He pleaded guilty to second-degree murder
in the 1974 murder of Earle Sherwood. He
agreed to testify against his accomplices.

He testified that he gave John Schoonmaker
$500 to finance the trip to Florida and
agreed to buy any jewelry taken in the
robbery. When Schoonmaker returned, he
said the robbery was not successful. He did
not mention the murder.

On December 5, 1975, Ferro and Thomas
Lewis broke into the home of Lillian Shur
(77) and robbed furs, jewels and paintings.
Miss Shur was suffocated. For this, Ferro
received a sentence of 15 years to life.

In 1985, he was released from prison at the
end of his sentence in the Shur case. Prison
authorities had lost the paperwork requiring
Ferro to be turned over to Florida authorities
in the Sherwood case.

Ferro died on August 15, 1993.

John B. Fisher was charged with receiving
stolen property after the 1979 murder of
John Turner and three others. He received a
five-year prison sentence.

Joseph Flouta was born in Guam. An item
in the August 1995 issue of The Numismatist
stated that Joseph Flauta was sentenced to
15 years to life in prison for the death of
Fresno coin dealer, Ron Miller. This was not
confirmed in contemporary newspapers.

Other records show that he was 16-years-old
at the time of the crime. He was sentenced in
1994 to 15 years to life. He was declared
eligible for parole in 2010 but California
Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger reversed
the decision. The California Court of

32

Appeals reversed the decision of the

govermor.

Bobby Ray Ford (1964) was bom in
Jefferson City, Tennessee, on December 16,
1964.

He pleaded guilty to second-degree murder
in the 1984 death of Roger Kirby. He
received a 40-year prison sentence. He
waited in the car while two others killed
Kirby with a sawed-off baseball bat.

He died at home in Jefferson City on

December 30, 2019. [questionable, see
FindaGrave]
Jashua Michael

Garcia (1991- ) was
born on November
7, 1991.

He was charged
with a 2016 robbery
at Bill’s Coin and
Jewelry in Jackson,
Mississippi. He was
sentenced to three
life terms in prison
for the robbery and
murder of three.

Joshua Michael Garcia

In 2023 he is at the Maryland Correctional
Training Center in Hagerstown, Maryland.

Michael Jerome Gates (1949-1975) was
born in Cuba City, Wisconsin, on June 5,
1949.

He is believed to be the killer of coin dealer
Emmet Jeffreys during a 1975 robbery in St.
Petersburg, Florida.
He was found four
blocks from the
scene of the crime
with a self-inflicted
gunshot wound. He
died in a_ hospital
the following day,
June 16.

Maksim Gelman
was born in Ukraine
on May 31. 1987.
He came to the
United States in
1996 and became a

Maksim Gelman

citizen in 2005.
He was a spree killer.

On February 11, 2011, he stabbed his
stepfather, Aleksandr Kuznetsov, 55 times
resulting in his death in their apartment in
Sheepshead Bay, Brooklyn.

He stabbed Anna Bulchenko, the mother of
a girl he liked. Later he returned and stabbed
Yelena eleven times, resulting in her death.

Driving away, he ran into the car of Arther
DiCrescento and stabbed him three times
and stole his car.

A mile away he hit and killed coin dealer
Stephen Tanenbaum who was crossing the
street to get to his bank.

He slashed a livery cab driver, Fitz
Fullerton. Then he slashed Sheldon
Pottinger and took his car.

Police captured him after another
confrontation in the subway. On November
30. 2011, he pleaded guilty to all charges.
He was sentenced to 200 years in prison.

In 2023, he is in prison in Elmira, New
York.

John Kelly Gentry Jr. was a suspect in two
1983 murders. It is alleged that he was
romantically involved with both of them at
the same time. By 1983 he was out of prison
for nearly killing a former boyfriend.

The first victim was 25-year-old Barbara
Gerber who worked at the Lucas County Jail
in Toledo, Ohio. She was killed in Deerfield,
Michigan, on April 12, 1983. She was
stabbed 32 times with a kitchen knife. Her
1981 Buick regal was missing.

The second was coin dealer William B.
Veith in Toledo, Ohio.

Gentry disappeared and has been a fugitive
from justice since 1983.

Kevin Gentry An item in the August 1995
issue of The Numismatist stated that Kevin
Gentry had received a sentence of 29 years
for the death of Fresno coin dealer, Ron
Miller.

33

Robert Goldstein) was manager of
Numismatic Gallery in Harrisburg, PA. He
was charged with conspiracy in the 1971
death of Raymond J. Ferns. He received a
sentence of 7 to 15 years.

Edward L. Graham was sentenced to life
in prison in the 1984 case of Darrell M.
Robinson in Kentucky.

William Rogers Hanna (1933-2011) was
born on August 6, 1933. He was convicted
of second-degree murder in the deaths of
four people in a coin shop

in Lee Center, New York, in 1979. He
received four sentences of twenty-five years
to be served consecutively at Attica
Correctional Facility,

He died in prison on July 19, 2011.

Joseph Maurice Harris (1956-1996) was
born in jail in Clifton, New Jersey, on March
18, 1956, and abandoned by his mother,

He was suspected in the 1988 murder of
coin dealer Roy A. Edwards. Harris had lost
$10,000 invested with Edwards.

Harries was fired from his job as a mail
handler in April 1990.

On October 10, 1991, Harris, armed with a
machine gun, grenades and a samurai sword,
killed a former supervisor, Carol Ott, and
her boyfriend in Wayne, New Jersey. He
then killed two mail handlers at the
Ridgewood post office. For these crimes he
was sentenced to death in 1992.

He died in prison on September 23, 1996.

Crystal Anne Hendrix, was born in Tarrant,
Texas, on July 13, 1987. She was charged in
the 2018 death of Fort Worth coin dealer
Gary Duke. She drove her Honda Odyssey
van and waited outside. She cooperated with
police.

Jonathon Herrera was born on December
22, 1996.

He was charged with first-degree murder,
burglary and armed robbery in the 2016
death of Petro Rymar.

On March 24, 2016, he broke through the
roof of Archie’s Precious Metals and stole
numerous items.

On April 1, 2016, he was buzzed into Bart’s
Coins and Collectibles by Petro Rymar. He
stabbed Rymar several times in the chest and
stole items from the vault.

He used a stool to break a window and left
the store where he was seen by multiple
witnesses.

In 2023 he is in Graham Correction Center.

Michael Heston (30) was implicated in the
1985 murder of Robert Rosberg. He pleaded
guilty to robbery and was given a 20-year
sentence.

Steven Paul Higueret (1949-2017) was
convicted in the 1978 death of Stanley W.
Pierce and received a twenty-year prison
sentence.

He was born in San Francisco on June 9,
1949, the son of a parcel post driver.

Steven married sixteen-year-old Penny G.
Collado on June 9, 1967. They were
divorced in May of 1969.

Higueret was a drug addict who used
marijuana, amphetamines, cocaine,
barbiturates, and LSD but was addicted to
heroin.

In 1971 he was booked into the San Mateo
County Jail on narcotics charges. On July
12, 1971, he put on the clothes of his
cellmate, Alan Vincent, who was due to be
released. When guards called Vincent’s
name, Higueret responded and walked out of
jail. He was recaptured in San Francisco on
September 11.

Steven was released from state prison in
March of 1978 and resumed his heroin habit,
which he supported with two or three
burglaries a day.

On June 7, 1978, he burglarized a home and
took a coin collection, jewelry and a TV set.
In a closet he found an Erma LA 22
automatic pistol.

One week later he waked into the California
Coin Shop in Oakland. He handcuffed

34

Steven Higueret taken into custody on June 14, 1978.
Robert Drummond the owner, had him lie
on the floor and began to fill a bag with gold
and silver.

Stanley Pierce had the misfortune to come
into the shop during the robbery. When
Higueret ordered him to assist filling the
bags, he refused and turned to leave. He was
shot and killed.

Police responded to a silent alarm and a
four-hour standoff followed. When Higueret
attempted to escape through a roof vent,
Drummond escaped and Higueret was
captured.

In 1979 he attempted to escape from the
Alameda County Courthouse with a rope
ladder made of bedsheets.

He married Josephin A. Ortolano on April 1,
1980.

A parole hearing was held in March of 2009
but the board found him unsuitable for
parole.

In 2011 he was a prisoner at High Desert
State Prison in Susanville, California.

Higueret died on October 27, 2017.

Clay E. Holbrook Sr. (40 yo in 1987)
pleaded guilty September 1, 1987, to felony
murder in the case of Darrell M. Robinson.

He was sentenced to 20 years in prison to be
served concurrently with a 10-year sentence
in another crime.

Vernon Dale Holbrook was implicated in
the 1984 death of Darrell M. Robinson. In
1985 he pleaded guilty of four counts
including the transportation of stolen
property, a conspiracy to kill a federal
witness, setting fire to the Ashland Louge,
and theft of a truckload of television sets. He
received a sentence of 15 years in prison.

Erasmus A. Iannaccone ( -1982) was the
owner of Nassau County Rare Coin Co. in
Franklin Square, Long Island.

He was charged in a 1966 plan to burn down
a house to collect the insurance payment.

He was charged with conspiracy in the 1971
murder of coin dealer Raymond J, Ferns. He
received a suspended sentence of 7 to 15
years.

Andrew Jackson (26) was arrested and
charged in the 2011 death of Steven M.
Halfon.

John Jarvis was charged with receiving
stolen property in the 1984 case of Darrell
M. Robinson.

James D. Karis was convicted of the 1987
murder of Peter M. Grant in Phoenix. He
was convicted and sentenced to 67 years in
prison.

Gloria Marie Killian was charged in the
1981 death of Edward Everett Davies. She
was found guilty of first-degree murder.

In 2002 she was granted a new trial after a
ruling that the prosecutor used perjured
testimony and withheld evidence. The D.A,
decided not to try her again and she was
released after 16 years in prison.

In 2008, prosecutor

Chritopher “Kit”
Cleland was
charged with

misconduct in the
Killian case.

Benjamin Barry
Kramer was born
on December 3,
1954, the — great-
nephew of Meyer

Benjamin Barry Kramer

35

Lansky.

In 1974, the 19-year-old Kramer was
arrested and charged with possession of
marijuana and a concealed weapon.

A year later he was again charged with
importing 2,352 pounds of marijuana.

In 1985, Tom Felts was killed in an
execution style shooting. Kramer and
partner Randy Lanier were suspected of
paying $50,000 for the hit but never
charged.

In 1986, Kramer won the U.S. Open Class
Offshore Powerboat Championship.

The 1986 death of coin dealer William
Charles Halpern was one of the series of
deaths linked to Kramer.

He was arrested in 1987 and accused of
running a cross-country smuggling ring.

He was implicated in the 1987 death of
Donald Aronow. It was suspected that
Kramer hired hitman Robert “Bobby” Young
to do the job.

In 1988 he received a life sentence without
parole in Illinois for drug smuggling. Also
convicted was his partner Randy Lanier,
1986 Indianapolis 500 Rookie of the Year.

In 1989 he was housed in the high security
Metropolitan Correction Facility. On April
17, a helicopter flew over the barbed wire
fences and hovered over the exercise yard.
Kramer attempted to hop in, One of his feet
hit one of the helicopter control pedals. The
helicopter clipped the fence and crashed.
Kramer suffered a broken leg.

In 1990, Kramer was convicted of 30 counts
of racketeering, conspiracy and income tax
fraud. For that he received a 45-year prison
sentence.

In 1996, Kramer pleaded “no contest” to
paying $60,000 to Young to kill Aronow and
received a 19-year sentence.

He was released from a Florida prison on
May 11, 2003.

John L. Kramer was questioned in the case
of Frederick C. Roth.

Frank Albert Lapa
(1931-1995) — was
born in Chicago on
October 24, 1931.
He was a partner of
Raymond Yablun in
Coins of the World
in Chicago.

On August 13,
1975, Yablun
boarded a plane to
attend the ANA
convention at the
Los Angeles
Marriot Hotel. He
was carrying
$150,000 in coin inventory and $10,000 in
cash.

Cepe Site

A day later, Lapa reported him missing to
Los Angeles police. Lapa hinted that Yablum
may have gone on to Hawaii to start a new
life.

On August 20, hotel staff opened a room
with a DO NOT DISTURB sign on the door
to find a dead body. It was initially thought
that this may have been Yablum.

Police attempted to interview everyone who
had been on the flight with Yablun. One of
them, going by the name of Robert Van
Cleef aroused suspicion. He was later
identified as Lee Samuel Rusetos who had
also been untraced since arriving in Los
Angeles.

Rusetos came to light after being involved in
a fight in Phoenix, Arizona. Los Angeles
police picked him up and returned to
California.

Rusetos soon began to spill the story. He
said he and Frank Lapa along with Powell
Clayton Crosby had taken Yablun to the
house of Lapa’s former wife. Lapa beat
Yablun to death, removed his clothes and
ordered Rusetos and Crosby to take the body
far away.

Strong rain and animal activity exposed a
nude body in the mountains near Yosemite
National Park. It was identified as Yablun by
a charm around his neck.

36

In 1976, Lapa was convicted of stealing
coins from the Chicago Coin Co and
sentenced to five years in prison.

In 1977, Lapa was convicted in the death of
Yablun and sentenced to life in prison, He
served fifteen years.

Thomas Phillip
Leae was convicted
of — second-degree
murder for causing
the death of his
girlfriend, Ailiana
Siufanua, in a high-
speed auto crash.

He stole a 1999
Honda in Auburn,
Washington, on
October 5, 2015. He
and his girlfriend robbed coin dealer Bentley
Brookes in Vancouver, Washington.
Siufanua shot the owner while stealing cash,
jewelry and silver antiques.

Thomas Phillip Leae

California Highway Patrol spotted the car
speeding south on Interstate 5. Speeds
reached 110 miles per hour before Leae spun
out and entered the northbound lanes going
south. He slammed into a tree at a rest stop.

Siufanua, who was not wearing a seat belt
was killed. For this Leae received a sentence
of 15 years to life in prison. He was
sentenced to 10 years and eight months on
other charges.

In 2023 he is at Centinela State Prison in
California.

James Franklin LeBus Was born on
February 24, 1939. He was married to
Cynthia Ann Coleman and_ had three
children.

He was a fence for stolen jewelry in the
Wichita Falls area. He was responsible for
the *Country Club Capers” with Clyde T.
Burns and Alton W. Fancher. In 1976 he was
sentenced to 4 years in prison for burglary.
He was alleged to have set up the murder of
James Keith.

Myron “Pop” Levin was suspected of
involvement in the death of James J. White.

Lonnie Dale Loyd was implicated in the
1975 death of James Keith.

Anthony Maresca (12/7/1962 ) was
arrested in 2015 for a series of five bank
robberies. DNA evidence linked him to the
2014 death of Billy Schuler.

In 2017 he was sentenced to 40 years in
prison for the bank robberies. In 2023 he is
at Sumter Correctional Institution.

Gary Joseph Masse was a cousin of
Stephen DiSantis, born on January 31, 1949.

Masse was charged in the 1981 death of
Edward Everett Davies. In 1983 he was
found guilty of first-degree murder,
burglary, robbery and grand theft. That May
he was sentenced to life in prison without
possibility of parole.

Joseph Maurice
McDonald was
born on July 14,
1917, in Somerville,
Massachusetts.

He was on the FBI
“Most Wanted” list
for six years. He
had a long
involvement with
organized crime.

JOSEPH MAURICE MC DONALD

In 1961 he was sent to Walpole Prison on a
sentence of 12 to 18 years for armed
robbery. He escaped in 1963 and was a
fugitive for three years. In 1966 he was
involved with a shootout with two Boston
Police officers and recaptured. He was
released in 1969.

McDonald and James L. Sims stole about $1
million in stamps from Jack E. Molesworth
in March of 1971.

Raymond A, Lundgren assisted the FBI in
recovering 340,000 rare stamps. He agreed
to testify but was shot and killed in 1976.

McDonald was implicated in the 1976
murder of Raymond Alfred Lundgren.

37

He was recaptured in 1982 and tried for a
race-fixing scheme. He was sentenced to six
years in prison.

McDonald died on August 6, 1997, in
Burlington, Massachusetts.

Gerald Charles McGregor was charged
with interstate transportation of stolen
property in the case of the 1975 murder of
John H. Stillman. Gold coins taken from
Stillman were found in his car. He received
a 10-year prison sentence.

Thomas Reed Merrill was charged in the
1989 deaths of Clyde Oatts and Rene King
at the Newport Coin Exchange. He was put
on trial with Eric Wick who had confessed
to acting alone.

They went on trial in June of 1991. On July
1, 1991, both were convicted of first-degree
murder, attempted murder, conspiracy,
robbery, burglary, and illegal use of a
firearm. Merrill received a sentence of life in
prison without parole. Wick received a
sentence of 37 years to life in prison.

Merrill’s conviction was vacated and he was
granted a new trial in June of 1993. At the
second trial in March of 1995, Wick testified
that Merrill was the mastermind and the
shooter. The jury was deadlocked and a
mistrial was declared.

That fall Merrill was put on trial for the third
time, On October 13, 1995, he was acquitted
and released.

Glenn Edward Meyer pleaded guilty to a
home burglary at age 19 in 1966. He also
had drug charges.

He pleaded guilty to first-degree murder in
the 1980 killing of James Milton Allen and
escaped the death penalty. He received a
sentence of 27 years to life in state prison.

Arthur David Mirabal was charged in the
1980 death of Walter F. Nickerson. He was
convicted and sentenced to life in prison.

William Charles Mooney (1950-2021) was
born on May 7, 1950. He was convicted of
second-degree murder in the deaths of four
people in Lee Center, New York, in 1979.
He received four sentences of twenty-five

years to be served consecutively at Attica
Correctional Facility.

He died in prison on May 9, 2021.

Todd Wayne Mulder was implicated in the
2003 death of Jordan Allgood.

In 2007 he was found guilty of murder,

aggravated robbery and _ aggregated
kidnapping.
Sandra Renee

Murphy was born
in Los’ Angeles,
California in 1966.
On a visit to Las
Vegas, she lost her
money gambling
and took a job as a
topless dancer at
Cheetah’s. There |
she met Ted Binion
and soon moved in |
with him.

His drug use and abuse put a strain on their
relationship and she began as affair with
Rick Tabish.

On September 17. 1998, she reported
finding Binion dead and the death was first
believed to be an accidental overdose.

In June of 1999. She and Tabish were
charged with murder, robbery, grand larceny
and conspiracy. They were fund guilty in
May 2000. Murphy received a sentence of
22 years to life in prison while Tabish
received 25 years to life.

The Nevada Supreme Court overturned the
murder conviction in July 2003. Murphy
was convicted of lesser charges but released
on time served.

After her release from prison, she married
art dealer Kevin Pieropan. They own an art
gallery in Laguna Beach.

Joseph Richard Nessley was charged with
receiving stolen property in the 1986 case of
Darrell M. Robinson.

Michael L. Norton was an alias for Steven
Higuert.

38

Michael Miles Ogden was charged with
murder in the 2018 case of Fort Worth
dealer Gary Duke. He was sentenced to 35
years in prison.

Charles Jesse Palmer (1938-2006) was
born in Bartow, Florida on March 15, 1938.

He was convicted of the Nebraska death of
Eugene W. Zimmerman in 1979. He was
sentenced to death on August 7, 1980.

In 1984 he joined three other Nebraska
death row inmates in a civil rights suit
against prison authorities claiming that the
prison did not provide adequate access to a
law library. In 1986, a U. S. District Judge
issued a consent decree granting prisoners
more access to the law library,

Palmer was scheduled to die on July 6,
1987, but Supreme Court Justice Harry
Blackman granted a stay of execution.

On February 19. 1988, he filed suit claiming
that segregation of death row inmates
represents cruel and unusual punishment.
The suit was dismissed.

He was scheduled to die on September 16,
1994.

Palmer died in Lincoln, Nebraska, on
August 16, 2006.

Edward Howland Parry (1944-1996) was
born on June 24, 1944.

He was convicted in the 1979 death of Carl
Bachman and three others and sentenced to
four consecutive terms of 25 years in prison.

He died in prison on May 20, 1996.

Wesley Peery (1924-1988) was a serial
killer who admitted to eleven murders. He
was convicted of the robbery and murder of
Marianne Mitzner on April 30, 1976. He
was sentenced to die in the Nebraska electric
chair on June 24, 1976.

He died of a heart attack. His death penalty
sentence was reduced to life in prison.

Melissa Pierce was charged in the 2018
case of Fort Worth coin dealer Gary Duke.

William Leon Pinson (1919-1984) was
born on July 15, 1919. In 1949 he was
married to Peggy Trout. They had a son.

In 1954, he received a two-year sentence for
burglary of the Mike Carter Engine Works.

In 1962, he made an attempt to escape from
the Eddy County Jail. In 1962 he was
convicted of forgery.

He was a habitual criminal. Accomplices
testified that he shot James Keith in 1975. It
took six minutes for a jury to convict him of
the murder. He was sentenced to life in
prison.

In 1980, he was released from the federal
prison in Leavenworth, Kansas, to be
transferred to state prison in Texas for the
Keith murder.

He died in prison on May 15, 1984.

Jensyn Polner, age
20, was charged in
the 2018 case of Fort
Worth coin dealer
Gary Duke. She
received a 25- year
prison sentence.

-

Mark E. Porter was
born on November
13, 1960.

He pleaded guilty to two counts of second-
degree murder in the deaths of Gary Junior
Tyrell and Jan Tyrell. They were killed in
Springfield, Missouri, in 2014.

Porter was sentenced to two consecutive
terms of life in prison. In 2023 he was at the
Jefferson City Correctional Facility.

Joseph H. Riberdy was questioned in the
case of Frederick C, Roth.

Frank Ringler (50) was charged with
unarmed robbery in the 1972 case of Willis
Smith. He was returned to the Chillicothe
Correctional Institute to serve out the
remainder of a previous sentence.

39

Jonathon Rubio-Segura was born on June
12, 1984. He was convicted of throwing a
drunken punch that resulted in the 2010
death of Anthony Gale.

Thomas Eugene Rudelik was born on
October 24, 1924. He was a career criminal
who operated as part of a Cleveland
burglary ring. In 1963 he was serving a term
for burglary in the Ohio State Penitentiary.
In 1964 he was acquitted of burglary
charges. He was a suspect in a 1965 theft
from Frederick C. Roth.

Vaughn Rue was the grandson of William
Rue and fourteen years old at the time of the
murder. He testified that he burglarized the
house twice prior to the murder. He sold
stolen coins to John Conley and Paul
Chambers who murdered William Rue in
1972.

Leo “Lee” Samuel Rusetos (1944-2003)
was born in Los Angeles on March 7, 1944.
In his youth he played guitar with the Elgin
Watchband. He was a Vietnam war veteran
and car salesman who rode from Chicago to
Los Angeles on the same plane as Ray
Yablun

He was charged as an accomplice in the
murder of Ray Yablun. Murder charges were
dismissed at a preliminary hearing in 1975.

In 1977 he pleaded guilty to charges of
conspiracy to commit grand theft and
accessary after the fact to murder. Rusetos
then disappeared.

He was rearrested in 1983.

He married Jacqueline Waynert in Las Vegas
on March 26, 1987.

Rusetos died at Columbia St. Mary’s
Hospital in Milwaukee on October 10, 2003.

John Vivian Schoonmaker (31) pleaded
guilty to a charge of second-degree murder
in the 1974 case of Earle Sherwood.

Edward Lee Scott was charged with
receiving stolen property in the 1986 case of
Darrell M. Robinson.

Charles Thurman
Sinclair (1946-
1990) became

known as the coin
shop killer. He was
born on November
24, 1946, in Jal,
New Mexico. He
opened a _ Hobbs,
New Mexico, coin
shop in the 1970’s
using his collection
as inventory. Later
he expanded to sell
guns.

Charles Thurman Sinclair

It is believed that Sinclair killed David M.
Sutton at his store in Everett, Washington,
on January 27, 1980. Silver coins valued at
$80,000 were taken.

A 1985 fire destroyed the shop and he
defaulted on his loans. Arson was suspected
but never charged. Out of employment, he
left town. Between 1985 and 1989, he lived
on a_rented farm near Demming,
Washington, as Jimmy Charles Weir.

It is believed that Sinclair killed Thomas
Rohr during a robbery at his shop in
Mishawaka, Indiana, on August 28, 1985.

In 1986, Robert and Dagmar Linton set off
in their red and white trailer to visit the
Vancouver World’s Fair. Their trailer was
found empty in a Washington State
campground. Their pickup was found at the
Tacoma airport. Sinclair was found in
possession of items stolen from the Lintons.

It is believed he killed Ruben Lucky
Williams in his shop in Vacaville, California,
on November 5, 1986.

It is believed he killed Leo Cashatt in his
shop in Spokane, Washington. On July 14,
1987.

It is believed that he killed LeRoy Hoffman
in his shop in Kansas City, Missouri, on
March 12, 1988.

On May 4, 1990, he visited Legacy Rare
Coins in Murray, Utah. He identified himself

40

as Jim Stockton and stalled until closing
time.

He shot owner Kelly Finnegan in the head
and Finnegan pretended to be dead. Sinclair
then stole inventory worth $60,000.

He visited Treasure States Gold and Silver,
the Billings, Montana, coin shop of Charles
William Sparboe. He said he was a farmer
looking to invest in coins. He returned to the
shop on July 31, 1990, and shot Sparboe
and his employee, Catharine Newstrom.

Jim Sparboe, son of William, was able to
give a description of the killer. After this
description was circulated, a Spokane coin
dealer reported that the description matched
a customer, identified as Jimmy Charles
Weir.

Weir was tracked to his house in Kenny
Lake, Alaska, and arrested on August 13,
1990. He was soon identified as Charles
Thurman Sinclair.

Charles Thurman Sinclair died of heart
failure in jail in Anchorage, Alaska, on
October 30. 1990. He had taken an overdose
of heart medication and suicide was
suspected but the death was declared
accidental.

The story was told in the April 2021 issue of
The Numismatist as “The Coin Shop Killer”
by Pete Smith.

Eugene Skaar was an ex-con involved in
the 1979 murder of John Turner and three
others. He recruited Ronald Woomer as a
driver and accomplice. He shot himself to
death when surrounded by police in a Myrtle
Beach motel.

Jim Stockton was an alias for Charles
Thurman Sinclair.

Ailiana Siufanua killed Bentley Brookes in
Vancouver, Washington, in 2015. She was
killed in a high speed crash as her boyfriend,
Thomas Phillip Leae was attempting to
elude police.

Chk Srown was arrested and charged with
second-degree murder in the 2011 death of
Steven M. Halfon.

David Edward Stone, Sr. (1956-2011) was
born in Albuquerque, New Mexico, on
November 12, 1956. He married Elizabeth
Eve Stewart in 1977. They had a daughter in
1978 and son David Edward Stone, Jr. in
1981. David and Elizabeth were divorced in
1994.

He served briefly in the U. S. Navy. His
many jobs included bank teller, security
guard, drive-in movie attendant, ice cream
parlor worker and employee of Pacific Bell
Telephone Company by the age of 23.

He was suspected of the 1979 murder of
James D. Bibee but never charged.

In 1981 he robbed a jewelry store and
received a six-year prison sentence.

He went on trial for the 1979 Fresno death
of Frank Moyer in 1982. The prosecutor was
Ronn Couillard. A jury found him guilty and
he received a sentence of 27 years to life in
prison on May 6, 1982.

On February 22, 1984, the court overturned
the verdict and granted a new trial. He was
convicted again and sentenced to life on
January 13, 1986.

He remained in prison from 1981 to 2011.

He died of multiple myeloma and sepsis at
Salinas, California, on June 25, 2011.

In January 2010, Elizabeth “Betsy” Stone
met with Ronn Couillard. She expressed
concern for her safety if Stone was released.
He died before the parole hearing.

Alan Swiger pleaded guilty to the murder of
Raymond Ferns on September 4, 1971. He
was sentenced to life in prison.

He also received a
sentence of 15 to
20 years for the
armed robbery.

Richard “Rick”
Tabish was born
March 15, 1965, in
Missoula,

Montana. His
father was one of

41

the wealthiest men in Missoula.

When he was twenty, he stole a 17 century
painting worth more than $600,000. He
received a three-year suspended sentence.

In 1987 he assaulted another driver in a
road-rage incident. He received a six-month
jail sentence and served forty-one days.

In 1988 he pleaded guilty on drug
smuggling charges. He served nine months
of a ten-year sentence.

He was in the construction business in Las
Vegas when he met Ted Binion in the men’s
room at Pieros. He socialized with Binion
and Sandra Murphy.

Tabish was charged with kidnapping Leo
Casey and torturing him to turn over
ownership of a sand pit. Also implicated was
gangster Herbert Blitzstein.

Binion contracted with Tabish to build an
underground vault on a vacant piece of land
near downtown Pahrump, Nevada. On July
4, 1998, a group of workers transported
Binion’s silver hoard to the vault and buried
it ten feet below ground.

Two days after the death of Ted Binion,
Tabish returned to the scene at 2:00 a.m. to
attempt to dig up the vault. He had not
gotten permission from anyone.

Tabish was arrested along with Sandra
Murphy in June of 1999. They were charged
with murder, robbery, grand larceny,
burglary and conspiracy. He was convicted
and received a sentence of 25 years to life in
prison.

The Nevada Supreme Court overturned the
conviction in July of 2003. The court said
that evidence from the Casey case should
not have been introduced in the Binion case.

Tabish was acquitted of the murder charges
in the second trial. He was released on
parole on May 18. 2010.

Tabish returned to Montana and went into
business mining cryptocurrency.

Eugene L. Terwillinger, Jr, was born on
November 6, 1940.

He was wanted for questioning in the 1970
murder of Frederick C. Roth. That August
21 his body was found in a shallow grave,
shot in the back of the head, and covered
with lime.

In November of 1972, John L Kramer and
Joseph H. Ribardy were taken into custody
for questioning in the Roth case,

Jamison Layne Townsend (1981- ) was
born in Bell, Texas on June 30, 1981. She
was employed as a nurse.

She was charged in the 2016 deaths of
Cleveland Mosley, Robert Ivy and Ted
McLemore in Bills’ Pawn in Jackson,
Mississippi.

Michael John Turnbough (32 yo in 1986)
was implicated in the 1985 death of Robert
Rosberg. He pleaded guilty to shooting
Rosberg and received a sentence of 45 years
in prison.

Bryan Scott Veal pleaded guilty to first-
degree murder in the 1984 death of Roger
Kirby. He was sentenced to life in prison.

In 2019, Veal, age 54, married Paige Marie
Jones, age 20, le.

Ansel Vincent Vitale (1949-1971) escaped
from Mansfield Reformatory on June 24,
1971. He was suspected with involvement in
the September 4, 1971, murder of Raymond
Ferns. He was found hanging from an oak
tree on November 6, 1971.

Terry Dean Warren was an accessory after
the fact in the 1980 death of James Milton
Allen. Convicted killer Donald Cronk was
wounded during the robbery.

Cronk and Meyer
went to the home of
Terry Warren after
the robbery, Warren
provided medical
treatment, a false
birth certificate and
a driver’s license.

For his
involvement,
Warren was

42

sentenced on June 27, 1984, to a year in the
county jail and fined $3400.

Brian Charles Webb was born on
September 23, 1986, in St. Louis, Missouri.
He was shot to death during the commission
of a robbery in Fort Worth on July 5, 2018.
He killed Gary Duke, owner of Fort Worth
Gold and Silver Exchange.

Jimmie Charles Weir was another alias
used by Sinclair.

Steven Wayne
White (b.
3/25/1980) was
charged in the 1987
murder of Tampa
Bay coin’ dealer
James Albert Boyd.

In 1982 he had been
sentenced to twelve
years in prison on
four counts of theft
and six counts of dealing in stolen property.
He was paroled on January 17. 1985.

Steven Wayne White

He skipped parole in Las Vegas and moved
to California where he was wanted for
questioning in the 1987 murder of a Santa
Ana dentist Cedric Horn.

Workers at the Centerbanc branch were
suspicious of the man identified as James
Boyd attempted to withdraw $30,000 from
Boyd’s accounts. White had pasted his
picture over that of Boyd on his drivers
license and passport.

Boyd was arrested in Atlanta on June 24,
1987. He attempted to bribe deputies who
flew him back to Florida. When that was
rejected, he asked the pilot to let him out
during the flight so he could feed himself to
the sharks.

White was convicted and sentenced to life in
prison. In June of 2015, the Cedrick Horn
case was reactivated. White pleaded guilty
to second-degree murder in 2017.

He remains in prison in 2023.

Fred Thomas Whitehead (30 in 1979) was
owner of the Myrtle Beach Coins and
stamps. He was implicated as_ the
mastermind in the 1979 murder of John
Thomas. He was charged on February 23,
1979, with conspiracy to commit murder,
armed robbery, and accessory to receiving
stolen goods. He was convicted and
sentenced to twenty-five years in prison.

Eric John Wick
was the son of an
FBI agent, He was
charged with the
1989 murders of
Clyde Oatts and
Rene King and the |
wounding of Bill
King at the Newport |
Coin Exchange. It
was alleged that he
robbed the store of
$45,00 in gold
coins. He was traced through a sales receipt
to the Tustin Marine Base.

Eric John Wick

Wick was convicted at trial and given a
sentence of 37 years to life.

Charles James Wilson was charged with
interstate transportation of stolen property in
the case of John H. Stillman, He received a
10-year prison sentence.

Ronald Raymond Woomer (1954-1990)
had a tough childhood and a long criminal
career. At age 19 he was sentenced to three
years in state prison for stealing fourteen
cases of beer. He did another year in prison
on a charge of statutory rape of a fifteen-
year-old girl.

He was convicted in the 1979 murder of
John Turner including two counts of
kidnapping, one count of kidnapping,
criminal sexual assault and assault and
battery with intent to kill. He testified in
court that Fred Whitehead paid him and
Eugene Skaar $10,000 to rob the coin
collection of John Turner.

On July 23, 1981, he was sentenced to die in
the electric chair. In 1981 the South Carolina
Supreme Court overturned his death
sentence in the Turner case. He was never
retried in that case as he had also received
death sentences in other cases. He was
executed for the murder of Della Louise
Summers.

After exhausting his appeals, he died by
electrocution in South Carolina on April 27,
1990.

Mattie Elizabeth Young was charged in the
1975 shooting death of John H. Stillman.
She was convicted and sentenced to life in
prison.

Murder — Victims

1923

This appeared in the Covington Virginian on
December 26, 1923:

“COIN COLLECTOR MURDERED
HARLAN, Ky., Dec. 26. -Apparently the
victim of a robbery and murder, the body of
Sherman Clavender, an eccentric resident of
Harlan County, was found on _ Pine
Mountain. Clavender had a hobby of
collecting silver half dollars, and always had
his pockets full of coins. No money was
found on his person.”

The name Sherman Clavender does not
appear in biography databases.

43

1959

Joseph Cucilic ( 9/22/1959) was a retired
real estate broker who lived in a Chicago
mansion filled with antiques. His dead body
was found naked and beaten with his hands
bound with wire.

His caretaker was also tied and beaten. He
was taken to a nearby hospital.

Two thieves were apparently after a rare
coin collection owned by Al Sax who rented
a room from Cucilic. Value was estimated at
$60,000.

The name Joseph Cucilic was not found in
biography databases.

1961

James Edward Crawford ( 8/15/1961) was
found dead at home in Perry Township near
Canton, Ohio. Crawford was shot in the
chest and back of his head. The home was
ransacked and rare coins were missing.

1962

Bruno Henry Crossfield = (7/22/1891-
2/7/1962), was born in Washington County,
Minnesota, as Bruno Henry Kreutzfeldt. He
was found dead with a crushed skull in his
bedroom behind his store, Bruno’s Coin
Shop, in San Francisco. He had been dead
for three to five days. The store was
described as cluttered and dingy. His wallet
and money belt were missing.

1966

Barbara Ann Comeau = (12/4/1948-
11/28/1966) was just seventeen-years-old
when she was beaten and her throat cut in
the kitchen of her apartment in Worcester,
Massachusetts.

A coin collection worth about $100 was
taken but soon recovered.

Her cousin, Joseph W. Chesnulavich was
convicted of her murder and another murder.
He was sentenced to life in prison.

1968

James J. White (10/17/1924-9/27/1968)
was married to Winifred with a son and a
daughter. He was a top criminal investigator
with the Treasury Department.

He was found dead in Pennsauken, New
Jersey, in his car in the parking lot behind
the Prince Inn Diner holding a 32-caliber
pistol in his lap. The death was ruled a
suicide.

There was suspicion that silver dealer
Myron “Pop” Levin was involved in the
murder of White. He had been investigated
in 1969 for melting 90% silver coins.

1970

44

Frederick C. Roth (10/6/1893-6/15/1970)
of Cleveland was a member of the Western
Reserve Numismatic Club.

Roth lived alone in North Royalton, Ohio,
with 15 tons of rare coins valued at a million
dollars. After two robberies and _ losses
valued as $12,000, he moved his coins to a
bank vault in 1964.

In 1965, Thomas E. Rudelik was arrested
and charged with an attempted theft of the
Roth collection.

Roth was found beaten to death with his
hands and feet tied. His caretaker discovered
the body.

Three or four thieves stole an Ohio Bell
Telephone Co. truck and climbed a pole to
cut off an alarm system.

Eugene L. Terwillinger was wanted for
questioning in the Roth case. His body was
found in a shallow grave in August of 1970.

In 1972, John L. Kramer and Joseph H.
Riberdy were questioned in the Roth case.

1971

Raymond J. Ferns died the day after being
shot in the head during a robbery at Jewelry
City Coin Shop in Attleboro. MA, on
September 4, 1971.

Two robbers took the owner, employee and
customer into the basement and handcuffed
them. They were frightened off by a siren
heading for a nearby hospital. They left
behind their gun and bags of loot.

Authorities claimed the case involved a
nation-wide ring of thieves targeting coin
dealers.

Initially charged in the case were Ronald T.
Cooper, Vince DeCarlo, Robert Goldstein,
Erasmus Jannaccone, Julian F. Iorio, Harold
Swagger and Julian Tyma.

Alan Swiger pleaded guilty and received a
life sentence for the murder plus an
additional 15 to 20 years for the armed
robbery.

Vince DeCarlo was an alias for Ansel
Vincent Vitale. He was found hanging from

an oak tree on November 6, 1971. He had
been dead for a few days.

1972

William Rue was born in Darke County,
Ohio, and lived there all his life.

He was found dead face down on a bed with
his hands bound on March 13, 1972. Rue
lived in an apartment in Bradford, Ohio, but
kept the house to store his coin collection,
antiques and hoards of other stuff.

Rue had been a forklift operator for Hobart
Manufacturing Co. in Troy. He was divorced
with six daughters and two sons.

John Conley was convicted of the murder in
September 1972 and sentenced to life in
prison. He was released in 1990 after
serving 17 years and five months in prison.

Paul Chambers pleaded guilty to a reduced
charge of manslaughter. His sentence was
one to twenty years but he was released after
four months.

His grandson, Vaughn Rue, robbed the
house on previous occasions. His sale of
looted coins to Conley and Chambers led up
to the murder.

Willis Smith (2/14/1917-11/12/1972) was
an auto parts dealer and coin collector in
East Liverpool, Ohio. He was shot dead in
his kitchen.

Burglary charges were filed against Frank
Ringler and Charles Michael Breon.

Joseph D. Crane was charged with the
murder. The first trial resulted in a mistrial.
The second trial produced a confession and
a life sentence.

Breon pleaded guilty and received a
sentence of 25 years for armed robbery.

Ringler was returned to the Chillicothe
Correctional Institute to serve out the
remainder of his sentence on an unrelated
charge,

1974

Earle D. Sherwood (6/4/1893-1/20/1974)
was born in Ossining, New York, and was

45

married to Gertrude. He was employed in
the heating and plumbing business. He was
author of What shall I Collect?

Sherwood was founder of the Reading (PA)
Coin Club in 1941. Later he served as
president of the Albany Numismatic Society
and the Mid-Hudson Numismatic Club.

He was found beaten and strangled on the
floor of his garage in West Pasco, Florida.
His safe was removed from the house and
found in the woods.

Sherwood had joined the ANA in 1934 as
member 4556 and in 1939 as member 7726.
The ANA offered a $5000 reward for
information leading to the killer.

John Vivian Schoonmaker was charged in
the crime. He pleaded guilty in exchange for
a lesser sentence and testimony against
accomplices. Later Alfie Anthony Ferro also
pleaded guilty.

Robert C. Spraul (7/16/1910-3/13/1974)

This appeared in The Times Recorder on
March 13, 1974:

“Coin Collector Murdered

CINCINNATI (UPD — Robert C. Spraul, 64,
who was a collector of valuable coins, was
found murdered Tuesday in his ransacked
home in suburban Price Hill. Three suspects
have been arrested.”

Coins with an estimated value of $7,000 to
$12,500 were taken. The police had a
suspect but were unable to make a case,
partially because the victim failed to keep
records.

1975

Marianne Mitzner was shot three times in
the head at the Mitzner Rare Coin Co. on
June 6, 1975. Her body was discovered by
her 7-year-old son.

About 2000 coins and watches were taken
valued at $22,000. Her husband, Ken
Mitzner, donated coins recovered from the
robbery to establish the Mariane Mitzner
Memorial Fund for disadvantaged youth.

Wesley Peery was a serial killer convicted of
the crime.

Emmet McGee Jeffreys (1/9/1887-
12/15/1975) was born in Crailhope,
Kentucky. He married Josephine I. Nelson in
1914 and married again to Hazel Cox in
1933.

He was shot to death in his home in St.
Petersburg, Florida. When Jeffreys drew and
fired his gun, the suspect fled without taking
anything.

Michael Gates was found about four blocks
away with two gunshot wounds. It is
believed the wound in his thigh came from
Jeffreys. A wound to his head was self-
inflicted. He died in a hospital the following
day.

Kenneth Derek Allender was also charged
with attempted robbery and _ first-degree
murder. He had helped to plan the robbery
but backed out before it occurred. He was
acquitted by a jury.

Kenneth Keith and James Carter Keith
(11/21/1913-7/15/1975) lived at the Keith
Ranch near Jolly, Texas. Both brothers were
bachelors and collectors. Kenneth collected
coins and James collected guns.

Kenneth donated his collection of Mexican
coins, valued at $50,000, to the American
Numismatic Association. They publicized
the donation in The Numismatist.

The article was read by James F. LeBus who
passed the information on to a group of five
including Clyde Burns, Earl Howard
Culwell, Alton Woodruff Fancher Jr., Lonnie
Dale Loyd, and William Pinson. They
plotted to rob the Keith Ranch.

On July 12. 1975, Lloyd and Pinson broke
into the ranch house and confronted James
Keith. Pinson shot and killed him with a 12-
gauge shotgun. Kenneth was beaten and tied
up in the bedroom.

Failing to find the coin collection which was
already at the ANA, the thieves took James’
gun collection. The other three members of
the gang helped to break into a wall safe.

The ANA offered a $5.000 reward for
information. Earl Culwell ratted on his
partners to claim the reward. Clyde Burns
was arrested and that night the Keith Ranch

46

was fire bombed, destroying the historic
ranch house.

William Leon Pinson was brought to trial,
convicted on January 29, 1977, and
sentenced to life in prison. Kenneth died of a
heart attack a few months after the trial.

In his will. Kenneth gave his stock in the
Ben E. Keith Company to the ANA. The
Keith stock accounts for a major piece of the
ANA investment portfolio.

John H. Stillman ( 1/6/1975) was found
dead from gunshot wounds to the head in
his San Diego apartment-office. Gold coins
worth $130,000 were missing.

Matie Elizabeth Young and Kimberly Carol
Conner were charged in the crime. Both
were convicted and sentenced to life in
prison.

Young had worked for Stillman as a
secretary. Conner was her second cousin.

The women met two men in Las Vegas and
travelled with them to Mexico. The men
were arrested when they returned to the
United Sates and stolen gold coins were
found in the car

Gerald Charles McGregor and Charles
James Wilson were convicted of interstate
transportation of stolen property. Each
received a prison term of up to 10 years.

Raymond Yablun
(1917-8/13/1975)

flew to Los Angeles
to make deals and

attend the 1975
ANA — convention.
He was carrying
coins worth

$150,000 and never
arrived at the
Mariott Hotel. His
coat and wallet
were found in a
garbage can near
the coin shop of beetroot
Clem Wojdak on

Wilshire Boulevard.

On May 10 of 1976, his nude body was
found partially buried in the mountains near

Bishop, California. He had been severely
beaten.

In 1977, two men pleaded guilty to the
murder. Leo Samuel Rusetos was a Chicago
car salesman. Powell Clayton Crosby was a
longshoreman.

Yablum’s partner, Frank Albert Lapa was
also convicted and sentenced to life in
prison, He served fifteen years.

1976

Raymond Alfred Lundgren (3/3/1919-
1/13/1976) was born in Brooklyn, New
York. He and his wife Jean had just gotten
out of their car at their condominium. A man
approached and shot him to death.

Lundgren had been scheduled to testify in a
New Jersey case related to a $750,000
robbery.

Joseph M. McDonald was implicated.

Robert Elsworth Richards = (2/12/1914-
4/19/1976) was born in Parkersburg, West
Virginia on February 12, 1914.

He was killed in his home in Bedford,
Virginia, on April 19, 1976. He was shot
twice while his hands were tied behind his
back. A coin collection, knife collection and
some guns were missing.

1978

Stanley Winslow’ Pierce (8/2/1940-
6/12/1978) was born in San Francisco. Out
of high school, he drove a frozen food truck
and dealt in coins as a bobby. He married
Shirlee A. Gurley and divorced in 1972.

Robert Drummond was alone in_ his
Oakland, California, coin shop when a man
came in armed with a .22 Luger. Drummond
had time to hit the silent alarm before he
was handcuffed by the robber and pushed to
the floor.

Unfortunately, Stanley W. Pierce came into
the shop and interrupted the robbery. The
gunman ordered Pierce to help him fill bags
with coins. Pierce refused to help, turned to
leave and was shot in the back.

47

A police officed on patrol responded to the
alarm and the robber pulled Drummond into
a back room to begin a four-hour standoff.

Drummond remained cool during the
standoff. Eventually he suggested that the
robber could escape through a roof top air
duct. When the robber was well up into the
shaft, Drummond bolted for the door and
escaped. The robber was taken into custody.

The robber had several aliases including
Michael L. Norton but was charged under
the name of Steven Higueret. He was
sentenced to twenty years in prison.

1979

Carl Walter Bachman = (4/22/1929-
11/16/1979), his wife Gloria Wanzenried
Bachman = (4/22/1932-11/16/1979), Carl’s
mother Rose Dunn, and Bruce Barber, an
employee, were murdered in Lee Center,
New York.

They were all shot in the head at the Tri
Willow Nursery and Garden Store which
included a coin shop for Carl. He and his
wife lived in an apartment over the store.

Coins taken in the robbery were valued at
$127,500.

Convicted of the crime were Edward
Howland Parry, William Rogers Hanna, and
William Charles Mooney. Each received
four sentences of 25 years to life to be
served consecutively.

James D. Bibee (8/2/1907-8/2/1979) joined
the ANA in 1961 as member 43474.

Bibee had a small shop in the back of
Duffy’s Antique Shop in Fresno, California.
He failed to return from work on August 2,
1979. Tom Duffy called David Stone who
said that Bibee had been at his house from
about 5:00 to 6:00 that evening.

His body was found on Tuesday, August 7,
in the trunk of his car, a 1964 Chevrolet
Impala, parked across the street from the
Clovis Police Department. An autopsy
determined that he had been shot ten times
in the chest.

Stone’s wife Betsy was questioned and
corroborated his story.

David Stone was suspected of the murder
but never charged.

The story was told in Murder in Visalia by
Ronn M. Couillard.

Frank Alexander Moyer, Jr. (6/6/1930-
10/6/1979) was born on June 6, 1930. He
served with the Army during the Korean
Conflict.

His body was found in his U.S. Stamp and
Coin Shop in Visalia. He had been shot five
times.

David Stone was convicted of the crime and
received a sentence of 27 years to life in
prison.

The story was told in Murder in Visalia The
Coin Dealer Killer by Ronn M. Couillard,
published in 2017.

Eugene W. Zimmerman (2/7/1920-
3/6/1979) served in the Army during WWII.
He was married to Monica Naughtin with a
daughter.

Zimmerman operated a coin shop in the first
floor of his home. He was found strangled
with an electric cord in Grand Island,
Nebraska. Cash, coins and jewelry were
missing.

Austin, Texas, coin dealer Jesse Garza
contacted police after he was offered coins
that matched some stolen from Zimmerman.
When the suspect called again. Garza
arranged to meet at the airport where the
suspect was arrested.

Charles Jesse Palmer was _ charged,
convicted and sentenced to death. He went
through subsequent trials and appeals and
died in 2006.

John Monroe Turner (8/2/1911-2/22/1979)
was a retired civil engineer. He was shot to
death in his home in Cottageville, South
Carolina. His coin collection was taken.

Ronald Raymond Woomer (24) was charged
with murder and armed robbery. On July 23,
1981, he was sentenced to death in the
electric chair.

48

Fred Thomas Whitehead (30) a Myrtle
Beach coin dealer was charged as an
accomplice.

Also believed to be involved was Eugene R.
Skaar (41) who killed himself when
surrounded by police.

Woomer was also charged in the deaths of
Arnie Lee Richardson, Earl Dean Wright,
and Della Louise Sellers.

1980

Walter Frederick Nickerson (3/10/1931-
7/20/1980) was a_ retired Air Force
Lieutenant colonel who received a
Distinguished Flying Cross. He was married
to Catherine Leila Herrick with two sons
and two daughters in Sacramento.

He was killed by a shot in the chest. Three
coin cases and $2000 cash were missing. On
July 20, 1980, he visited Auction City and
Flea Market. He said he was heading for
Roseville Auction but never arrived.

His body was found in a field in Sacramento
County. John Stevens Barnes and Arthur
David Mirabal were charged. Mirabal was
convicted and sentenced to life in prison.
Barnes was placed on probation for five
years.

David M. Sutton, Sr. (10/5/1943-
1/27/1980) was an Everett, Washington,
antique dealer with the Bennington Auction
Co. & Tropical Fish Store. A police officer
checking an unlocked door discovered his
body in the store. He had been shot once in
the back of the head.

He was one of the victims of Charles
Thurman Sinclair.

James Milton Allen was married with a son
and three daughters. A Korean War veteran
pilot, he worked as a fish and game warden.
He was also a conservation instructor at
California State University.

He was the proprietor of Allen Coin Shop in
Carmichael, California. He was killed on
December 19. 1980.

Allen interrupted two men burglarizing his
apartment. Allen fired twice and wounded

Donald Cronk. Cronk fired once and ran.
Allen died later in a hospital.

Cronk and Glenn Meyer took a briefcase
with contents worth $50,000 and a 3.88
carat diamond ring worth $40,000.

Cronk and Meter were both convicted and
received sentences of 27 years to life.

1981

Thomas George Cohen ( 5/24/1981) was
the owner of Gold Sources, Inc. in Houston.
He was shot and killed in his office after
returning from a buying trip.

Edward Everett Davies (2/16/1910-
12/9/1981) was born in Provo, Utah. And
married to Grace. He was employed as a
truck driver for ten years. He had lived in
Rancho Cordova for the previous sixteen
years.

He was shot to death in a home invasion in
Sacramento. California. His wife was shot in
the back of the head but able to crawl for
help. Two men knocked on the door
claiming to be from the phone company.
They demanded gold.

Gary Joseph Masse and Gloria Marie Killian
were charged with the murder. Stephen
DiSantis was a fugitive but arrested a year
later,

Masse was convicted and sentenced to
death. Charges against Killian were
dropped. DiSantis, identified as the shooter,
was convicted and sentenced to death.

1982

Dwyaine Edward’ Frost (9/6/1947-
11/15/1982) was born in Dallas on
September 6, 1947. He was married to
Vickie Lynn Voris in 1974 and had a son in
1976, a daughter in 1977 and another
daughter in 1982.

He was killed in an armed robbery at Red
Eagle Coin Company in Dallas on
November 15, 1982.

Forest Leon Ethington was arrested on
suspicion but not charged,

1983

49

William B. Veith (7/29/1931-4/14/1983)
was born on July 29, 1931. He served with
the Army during the Korean War and
married Alice Anderson on January 21,
1956. They had a son and two daughters.

Veith operated Bill’s Pet Supply for fifteen
years. He owned Rare Coin Items for ten
years prior to his death.

Veith was found dead in the basement of his
store on April 14,1983. The prime suspect
was John Kelly Gentry Jr. who became a
fugitive from justice.

1984

William Arthur —
Fiegener (1962-
1984) disappeared

in 1984.

It was hoped that
sending Billy to a
horse ranch = in
California would
keep him out of
trouble. That did not
turn out well. He
met Forest Ethington who convinced him to
come to Texas to do robberies of coin shops.
The two had a couple of successes.

Billy Fiegener

Having learned the trade from a master,
Feigener took Ethington’s daughter’s car to
do a smash-and-grab robbery. He was
caught and set to go to trial.

A witness said that Ethington was angry,
was concerned that Feigener would flip on
him, and that he would kill Billy. Later he
said that he had killed Billy.

Ethington recruited a new crew to conduct a
robbery in Pantego, Texas.

Human remains were found buried near
Weatherton in October of 1985. They were
not identified until December of 2019 when
DNA was linked to Feigener.

With the October 2019 death of Ethington,
the case was closed by exception.

Roger Walden’ Kirby = (11/18/1922-
1/30/1984) was an ANA member. He was a
World War If Army veteran married with
children. He worked for White Stores for
twenty years.

He was beaten to death with a sawn-off
baseball bat at his home in West Knox
County, Tennessee. His body was discovered
when his wife returned from work.

Gold, jewelry and old coins were missing
from a portable showcase in the den.

Charged with the crime were James Timothy
Clotfelter 30, Bryan Scott Veal 19 and
Bobby Ray Ford 19.

Darrell M. Robinson (11/4/1952-
6/15/1984) was born in Boyd County,
Kentucky, on November 4. 1952.

He was owner of Coinex of Ashland. Inc. in
Kentucky, and was shot to death in the store
before the thieves took $100,000 in jewelry.

Charged with murder were Vernon Holbrook
Sr, Clay Holbrook, Edward Graham and
Benjamin Christian.

Charged with receiving stolen property were
John Jarvis, Edward Lee Scott, and Joseph
Richard Nessley.

Court testimony indicated that Clay
Holbrook took Edward Graham and a
motorcycle to the location in a van owner by
Vernon Holbrook, not related to Clay
Holbrook.

Graham robbed Robinson with a .32 caliber
pistol and fled on the motorcycle. Stolen
jewelry was taken to Southern Ohio
Raceway and hidden under the hood of a
Cadillac. Graham later admitted to killing
Robinson but said the shooting was
unintentional. One incentive for the robbery
was for Vernon Holbrook to get back a
diamond ring that had been pawned with
Robinson.

1985

Thomas L. Rohr (10/12/1943-8/28/1985)
was born in Piqua, Ohio, on October 12,
1943. He married Carol J. Reed in 1963.
They had a daughter and two sons.

50

He was a clerk at Nunemaker’s Coin Shop
in Mishawaka, Indiana. Previously he was
police chief in Nappanee, Wisconsin.

During a robbery, he was shot in the head
and killed. Cash and gold worth $55,000
was taken.

Robert Wayne Rosberg, Sr. (10/16/1928-
3/27/1985) was a clerk at the Artex Stamps
and Coins shop in Pantego, Texas. He was
found shot in a back room with his hands
tied. Inventory worth several thousand
dollars was missing from the shop.

Forest Leon Ethington was charged as the
mastermind. Michael Heston and Michael
John Turnbough were also charged.

Court records indicate that Ethington
planned the crime and recruited Heston and
Turnbough who entered the shop on March
27, 1985, near closing time. Turnbough took
Rosberg to the back of the shop and bound
him to a table with flexcuffs. Heston
emptied the safes and carried contents out to
the car.

Turnbough shot Rosberg three times in the
back of the head with a .22 caliber Beretta
automatic fitted with a homemade silencer.
Ethington kept watch from across the street
while listening to a police scanner. After the
crime, the three returned to Ethington’s
home.

Ethington and wife Kathy had a table at the
Long Beach show in May. Their stock
included items that could be identified as
coming from the burglary by packaging and
handwriting on _ envelopes. Ethington
claimed he bought these at a previous show.

Ethington was questioned by Pantego police.
He was subsequently arrested in California
where more evidence was found.

Lieutenant Doug Davis of the Pantego
Police Department was investigating officer.
In 1987 he founded the Numismatic Crime
Investigation Center.

1986

William Charles “Billy” Halpern
(2/8/1958-10/21/1986) was a Hallandale
firefighter and paramedic. An injury forced

him to go into the coin business. He worked
out at the Apollo Gym and Fitness Center in
Hollywood, Florida. He may have also been
involved in the narcotics business.

He was killed inside his Miramar, Florida,
townhouse. Police believe this was the first
in a series of six murders, all drug related.

Tom Felts was killed, execution style, in
October 1985. He worked out at the Apollo
Gym and Fitness Center.

Charles Hall and Charlinda Draudt were
slashed and killed in Hall’s home on May 6,
1987. Hall did carpentry work for the Apollo
Gym and Fitness Center and sometimes
worked out there. Before he died, Hall told a
friend she knew who killed Halpern.

Harry Van Collier and James Hinote Jr,
were shot in the head in Hinote’s home on
May 14. Hinote worked out at the Apollo
Gym and Fitness Center. The Sheriff
identified Collier as the killer of Hall and
Draudt.

Powerboat driver Benjamin Barry Kramer
and race car driver Randy Lanier were
suspected of paying $50,000 to have Tom
Felts killed. They were not charged in that
case but were sentenced to life in prison on
unrelated drug charges.

Ruben Lee “Lucky” Williams (3/22/1927-
11/5/1986) was born in _ Dandridge,
Tennessee, on March 22, 1927. He was a
World War II veteran.

He was murdered in his shop, the Golden
Hills Coin Exchange, in Vacerville,
California, on November 5, 1986.

His wife reported him missing. His car was
found in a parking lot a block away. There
was blood in the car and a spent cartridge.

He was shot twice in the head. The unlucky
victim was dumped in a creek two miles
away. A customer who matched the
description of Sinclair had been in the store
wanting to buy gold.

The murder has been attributed to Charles
Thurman Sinclair. When he was arrested in
1990, Williams’ drivers’ license, military
identification card and keys were found in

51

the house. Also found were receipts, ledger
books and records from the store.

1987

James Albert Boyd went missing on
February 6, 1987. He was a dealer in rare
coins, gold, ivory, antiques and guns.

In 1963 he had been found guilty of second-
degree murder in the death of Francis J.
Veard who was having an affair with Boyd’s
wife. He was sentenced to twenty years in
prison.

Boyd was last seen on February 6 when he
bought traveler’s checks in preparation for a
trip to South Africa.

Boyd lived in a ten-sided house with
windows closed off and an_ elaborate
security system. When police checked on
February 13, 1987, they found the house
unlocked.

There was evidence of blood, bullet holes
and spent cartridges. Valuable jewelry,
firearms, bottles of wine and objects d’art
were missing.

Bank employees notified police that Steven
Wayne White had attempted to use Boyd’s
identification to withdraw money from his
account. Boyd and his girlfriend, Janina
Koziej Maytheux, were arrested on June 14.

White and Maytheux were found in
possession of Boyd’s El Camino, a .25
caliber handgun, $10,000 cash and hundreds
of thousands of Boyd’s stolen property.

At trial, a defense attorney suggested that
Boyd may have faked his death so he could
have a sex-change operation to become Jane
Golden.

White was
convicted of the
murder and
sentenced to life in
prison. Maytheux
was charged with
grand theft and

deported back to
France.

Leo Nordeen Cashatt, Jr.

Boyd’s body has never been found.

Leo Nordean Cashatt, Jr. (4/14/1942-
7/14/1987) was born in Spokane,
Washington, and graduated from Gonzaga
University. He was the owner of Cashatt
Coins in Spokane. He was shot in the head
and died in his coin store. He was found by
his wife, Maureen, and daughter. It is
believed he was killed by Charles Thurman
Sinclair.

Peter M. Grant (1915-12/15/1987) was
born in Indianapolis. He served in the Navy
during World War II and was captain of a PT
boat in the South Pacific. He settled in
Phoenix in 1946 and started Pete’s Fish and
Chips Restaurants in 1947. The chain grew
to 13 locations.

A cleaning woman found him dead in his
apartment. He had been shot several times.

James D. Karis was a Phoenix private
investigator. He was arrested after he
attempted to sell stolen coins to a Phoenix
coin dealer. A search of his storage unit
yielded 2200 gold and silver coins stolen
from Grant. In 1988 he was found guilty of
the murder of Grant. He was sentenced to 67
years in prison.

1988

Roy A. Edwards (_ 11/15/1988) was
registrar for the Wilfred Beauty Academy in
Newark, New Jersey. Dealing in coins and
precious metals was a sideline.

He was killed in a home invasion. His wife
and daughters were assaulted. He was shot
in the neck as he attempted to escape
through a screen door.

Joseph M. Harris was charged with the
crime.

LeRoy Melville Hoffman (7/29/1935-
3/12/1988) was born in Brooklyn. He retired
from the Air Force and lived in Kansas City
after 1970. He was married to Eustelle with
a daughter.

He was killed in Lee’s Coin Store in Kansas
City. The store was also known as Central
States Numismatic Investments. He was
found lying in a back room and shot in the

52

head. He had talked recently about selling
the store and getting out of the business.

His murder is attributed to Charles Thurman
Sinclair.

1989

Clyde Oatts (6/18/1943-3/4/1989) was
killed during a robbery at the Newport Coin
Exchange. Also killed was Rene King
(3/4/1989), wife of the owner, William D.
King. William was also shot and suffered
permanent brain damage.

Convicted of the crime were two former
Marines, Thomas Reed Merrill and Eric
John Wick. Merrill was retried twice and
acquitted in 1995.

Douglas J. Berry was sleeping in the back
of his coin store in Watertown, New York.
On September 8, 1989, Gary Charles Evans
and Damien Cuomo broke in. Evans shot
Berry to death.

1990

Charles William Sparboe (5/19/1930-
7/31/1990) was born in Jewell, Iowa. He
operated Avis Car Rental in Billings and
later Safe-Way and Maverick service
stations. He was a partner in General Custer
Hotel.

He opened Treasure State Silver & Gold
Shop in 1980. It was there that he was shot
and killed on July 31, 1990.

Also killed was his shop assistant, Catharine
Newstrom (7/31/1990).

They were victims of Charles Thurman
Sinclair.

1991

Gregory Jouben (5/4/1955-10/17/1991)
was killed in his coin shop in Little Falls,
New York, on October 17, 1991. He was
shot by serial killer Gary Charles Evans,

1993

Ronald Lee Miller (8/16/1944-3/16/1993)
was co-founder and president of the Fremont
Coin Club. He was murdered in his store,
the Fremont Coin Gallery in California.

Joseph P. Cruz was a suspect along with two
juveniles, Joseph Flouta and Kevin Gentry.

A probation report for Flauta had these
details of the crime:

“On March 13, 1993, between noon and
1:00 p.m., Flauta and Gentry entered the
Fremont Coin Gallery, intending to rob the
business. On the way to the robbery, Gentry,
who was armed with a gun, told Flauta that
he would shoot Miller if there was any
hassle. During the robbery, Gentry shot
Miller, who died of multiple gunshot
wounds to the head.

Flauta later admitted that he took gloves to
the scene of the robbery and put them on
after the shooting. He and Gentry took gold,
coins, trading cards, jewelry, cash and guns
with an estimated total value of $386,100.
Some of this property was later recovered.
Flauta stated that he personally received
approximately $200 in cash plus trading
cards from the robbery. He stated that he
spent all of it on clothes for himself, gifts for
friends and relatives, and he gave some
money to his mother to pay bills.”

1994

Willis John Cole (
8/19/1994) was a
police officer killed
while responding to
the burglary of the
D & S Coin Shop in

New Cumberland
Burrough,
Pennsylvania on

August 19, 1994.

Two suspects were
apprehended within
45 minutes.
Lynwood Scott Anderson was given a life
sentence and Seifullah Abdul-Salaam was
sentenced to death.

1995

Robert C. Rose (6/26/1943-7/19/1995) was
shot in the head in RenRob Coins, Inc. in
South River, New Jersey on July 19. 1995.

Michael Scott Behn was charged with the
crime. A search of his apartment found coins

Willis John Cole

53

believed to come from Rose. He was
convicted in 1997 and sentenced to life in
prison. The conviction was overturned in
2005.

In the second trial in 2006, he was again
convicted and sentenced to life in prison. In
2023, he is in New Jersey State Prison.

1998

Lonnie ‘Theodore
Binion. a/k/a Ted
Binion, was born in
Dallas, Texas, on
November 28, 1943,
the son of Benny
Binion, owner of
Binion’s Horseshoe
Casino in Las
Vegas.

In 1964, Benny
Binion lost his gaming license and his sons,
Jack, 23, and Ted, 21, took over operation of
the casino.

In 1967, Ted was the target of an attempted
kidnapping by cab driver Marvin Shumate.
He was killed in what was described as a
gangland killing which has not been solved.

Ted was married to Doris Binion from 1980
to 1995 and had two children.

Ted met Sandra Murphy who was a topless
dancer at a casino. She soon moved in with
him.

Ted Binion was charged with drug
trafficking in 1996 and banned from the
casino. He was also accused of ties to
gangster Herbert Blitzstein. He died of a
gunshot on January 6. 1997. In 1998, Ted’s
license was permanently revoked. He was
forced to remove his bullion and coin
collection from a casino vault.

Binion hired Rick Tabish to construct an
underground vault at Pahrump, Nevada. The
vault held 46,000 pounds of silver including
135,000 Morgan and Peace silver dollars.
Binion and Tabish were the only people with
the combination to the vault.

On September 17. 1998, Sandra Murphy
called police to the home. Ted Binion was
found dead on a yoga mat. An autopsy found
heroin and Xanax in the body leading to an
initial conclusion of an accidental drug
overdose. It was not until May 5, 1999, that
the death was ruled to be a homicide.

Two days after the death of Binion, Rck
Tavish was found attempting to unearth the
silver vault with an excavator and dump
truck.

In June of 1999, Sandra Murphy and Rick
Tabish were arrested and charged with
murder, robbery, grand larceny, burglary and
conspiracy.

Also charged with burglary were Michael
Milot and David Mattsen.

The trial was a media sensation at the time.
In May of 2000, Tabish was convicted and
sentenced to 25 years to life in prison.
Murphy received a sentence of 22 years to
life.

The Nevada Supreme Court overturned the
murder conviction in July 2003, contending
that the judge gave improper instructions to
the jury.

A second trial began on October 11, 2004.
Both were acquitted of the murder but
convicted of lesser charges. Murphy was
sentenced to time served and released.
Tabish was released on parole on May 8.
2010.

Silver dollars from the Binion vault were
acquired by Spectrum Numismatics
International for $3.3 million, certified by
NGC and marked as coming from the
“Binion Collection.”

The story has been
told several time on

TV crime reports
plus books and
movies.

2003

Jordan Jay Allgood
(7/171960-

11/25/2003) was the
owner of Allgood

Jordon Jay Allgood

Coins in St. George, Utah. David Robert
Campbell made this confession:

“On November 23, 2003, in St. George.
Utah, I entered the Allgood Coin Shop with
the intent to steal merchandise, I was armed
with a loaded handgun, which I intended to
use to intimidate the store owner, Jordan
Allgood. During the course of the robbery, I
shot Mr. Allgood. I handcuffed Mr. Allgood
and stole merchandise, including coins and
gold. Mr. Allgood died from injuries he
sustained in the shooting.”

Campbell pleaded guilty and received a
sentence of five years to life.

Todd Wayne Mulder was found guilty of
murder, aggravated robbery and aggregated
kidnapping.

2006
Leslie “Butch” Sorenson (10/30/1941-
6/30/2006) was married to Chris

Maruszewski. He previously owned the
Pioneer Pet Store in Parkland Mall. He
started the Celebrity Coin and Stamp in
Milwaukee in 1961.

A customer found him behind the counter in
a pool of blood.

As of 2023, the case remains unsolved.
2010

Anthony Louis Gale (4/13/1972-3/26/2010)
was born on April 13, 1972, the son of New
York Mint owner, Bill Gale. He was Chief
Financial Officer for New York Mint.

He was assaulted on the street in downtown
Minneapolis at 3:00 in the morning on
March 26, 2010. His head hit the concrete
and he died twelve days later.

Although he was employed by a numismatic
telemarketing firm, the crime was not
numismatically related.

Anthony Rubio-Segura was convicted of the
crime.

2011

Steven M. Halfon (5/15/1950-8/23/2011)
was born on May 15, 1980. He was married

in 1974 to Terri Denise Ballenberg Halfon
with a daughter.

He was the owner of Liberty Coin Co. in
Gravesend, New York. He was taken from
his shop by three men who beat him and
dumped him in the trunk of a black Volvo.
They dumped him off a mile away with
severe head trauma. He was transported to a
hospital where he died.

One of the attackers got out of the Volvo
covered in blood. He threw his bloody T-
shirt, Yankees cap and gray hoodie in the
sewer before running off with the others.
The Volvo was abandoned.

Andrew Jackson (26) was identified through
fingerprints on the Volvo. Later Chk Srown
was arrested in Florida.

Stephen
Tanenbaum
(8/16/1948-
2/11/2011) was born
and lived in

Brooklyn. He had
an —_ undergraduate

degree from

Columbia

University and a

masters degree from

the Massachusetts Stephen Tanenbaum
Institute of

Technology.

On the afternoon of February 11, 2011, he
was walking from his home to his bank. As
he crossed the street, he was struck and
killed by spree killer Maksim Gelman.

2013

Eldridge Rogerdell
Gibson (3/27/1932-
10/31/2013) was
bom in Stanly
County, North
Carolina, on March
27, 1932. He was
married to Alice
Virginia Brown
with three children.

Eldridge Rogerdell Gibson

He was killed at the
B&G Coin Shop in

55

Albemarle, North Carolina, on October 31,
2013. His missing Ford F-150 truck was
later found deep in a wooded park.

Ryan Anthony Efird was arrested and
charged in the case. He was identified
through surveillance video. He had a
previous conviction for breaking and
entering.

Efird pleaded guilty to first-degree murder
charges to avoid the death penalty. He was
sentenced to life in prison without parole.

In 2023 he is residing in Central Prison,
North Carolina.

2014

Billy Schuler ( 5/20/2014) was a retired
minister and coin dealer. He drove from his
home to the Family Dollar in Holiday,
Florida. There he met Anthony Maresca. A
GPS tracking device showed the truck was
driven to a wooded area in Tarpon Springs
where Schuler’s body was found. The truck
was then driven to Maresca’s home.

Anthony Maresca was convicted of five
unrelated bank robberies and sentenced to
AO years in prison.

2014

Gary Junior Tyrell (2/7/1954-5/1/2014)
was born in Springfield, Missouri, on
February 7, 1954. He received a B.S. from
Missouri State University in 1975. He went
on to receive a masters degree from
Missouri State University and Doctorate of
Education from the University of Arkansas.

He began teaching at Mountain Grove High
School following his 1975 graduation from
college. He held positions as Transportation
Director, Assistant Middle School Principal,
Middle School Principal, and Assistant
Superintendent.

He and Jan Ellen Nickell Tyrell (1/24/1953-
5/1/2014) were murdered in their home in
Springfield. They had been bludgeoned with
a walrus tusk and shot.

Mark E. Porter was a friend of the Tyrell’s
and the superintendent of the Mountain

Grove School District and owed the couple a
lot of money.

In 2015 he pleaded guilty to two counts of
second-degree murder and was sentenced to
two consecutive terms of life in prison.

The story was told as “The Collector” on an
episode of Dateline that aired on Tuesday,
August 30, 2022.

2015

Dwight M.
Brockman
(4/30/1948-
7/20/2015) was
born in Cheyenne,

Wyoming. He was \
married to Ellen }
Collins with a son.

: ‘ —
He and his friend,

George Carsten |
Manley (8/25/1938-
7/20/2015) were
killed in Cheyenne,
Wyoming.

Dwight M. Brockman

The Cheyenne coin shop was known as The
Coin Shop. The murders happened during
Cheyenne Frontier Days when a large
number of visitors come to town.

As of eight years later, on July 20, 2023, the
case remains unsolved.

John Monroe Turner (6/6/1937-11/7/2015)
was born in Breathitt County Kentucky. He
was married to Reva Watts with two
daughters. He had gone into the coin
business after retiring from Cummins
Engine in Columbus, Indiana.

Turner was the owner of John’s Coin and
Jewelry Shop in Austin, Indiana. On
November 7, 2015, A family member called
911 and first responders came to treat what,
at the time, was thought to be a medical
emergency. In the hospital it was discovered
that Turner had died from a gunshot wound.

Court record report that James Caudill and
his girlfriend, Ginger Lee, went into the
store to retrieve a stolen gold ring that had
been pawned. They left when Turner would
not sell the ring back at the original price.

56

Caudill went home to change clothes and
they returned to watch the store. Caudill put
on a plastic pop bottle as a homemade
silencer on a gun he got from his brother,
Christopher.

After other customers left, Caudill returned
to the store, shot Turner, and stole coins,
jewelry and cash.

James Matthew Caudill pleaded guilty and
was sentenced to 85 years in prison for the
murder.

Also charged were his girlfriend Ginger Lee
Cox, his brother Christopher M. Caudill, and
his mother Patricia A, Caudill.

Bentley Christopher
Brookes (9/18/1957-
11/25/2015) was born
in Anchorage, Alaska.
He died of a gunshot
wound at Pacific
Bullion Precious
Metals in Vancouver,
Washington, on |
November 25, 2015.

Ailiana Siufanua was

identified as the killer. She died in a high-
speed car crash in a car driven by her
boyfriend Thomas John Leae.

2016

Owner Cleveland Bryant “Bill” Mosley
(10/25/1935-12/17/2016), employee Robert
Ivy ( 12/17/2016), and Ted McLemore (
12/17/2016) were found dead in Bill’s Pawn
Jewelry Coin / Stamp Exchange in Jackson,
Mississippi.

Bentley Brookes

Jamison Townsend and Joshua Garcia were
charged with the crime. Garcia received
three life terms in prison.

Petro Rymar ( 4/1/2015) came to the
country from Ukraine. He was the owner of
Bart’s Coins and Collectibles in the Irving
Park neighborhood of Chicago. On April
Fool’s Day, he let a young man through the
security door into his shop. The man stabbed
Rymar several times in the chest, took items
from the vault, used a stool to break a
window and jumped out of the store. This
was witnessed by people in the area who

called police. They discover Rymar dead in
the back of the shop.

Jonathon Herrera was charged with the
crime.

2018

Ronald Lee
Ralston (5/22/1942-
1/26/2018) was

born in Vincennes,
Indiana, on May 2,

1942. His wife,
Donna Earle
Ralston, died in
2001.

Ralston served as a
tank commander in

the Army — and

retired from Allison Ronald Lee Ralston
Transmission in

2006.

On January 26, a housekeeper arrived at his
Indianapolis house to find Ralston dead. The
cause of death was blunt traumatic injuries.
His missing white 2015 Mustang was found
the following day.

He was known to have a coin collection and
a stamp collection.

Gary Duke, age 58. was shot and killed in
his store, Fort Worth Gold and Jewelry
Exchange on July 5, 2018. He was
pronounced dead at John Peter Smith
Hospital.

Robber Brian Charles Webb was found dead
at the scene. Charged in the case were
Crystal Anne Hendrix, Michael Miles
Ogden, Melissa Pierce, and Jensyn Polner.

2020

Paul Edmunds _— (10/2/1941-9/26/2020)
attended Indiana Central College and was
employed by Lilly for more than thirty
years. He owned and drove more than 80
different Corvettes. He was a drag racer and
National Hot Rod Association member.

He owned Diamond Stamp and Coin for
thirty-five years. He had a booth at
Shadeland Peddlers & Flee Market.

He arranged to meet a potential customer in
the Hardee’s parking lot. Surveillance video
showed him park next to a red Saturn SUV.

A young woman got out and got into
Edmund’s car. A moment later the car
lurched forward and the woman got out and
fled.

Edmunds drove to the front of Hardee’s and
reported that he had been shot while meeting
a young woman client, He died in a hospital
the following morning. A cell phone left
behind was used to identify Blankenship
who was arrested.

Kayla Blankenship was charged with the
crime. After a plea deal, she was sentenced
to 45 years in prison.

Pedophiles

Walter Breen’s origin story is clouded in
mystery. Much of that cloud came from
Walter himself. The version presented here
is as likely as any to be true.

Walter Henry Breen was born in San
Antonio, Texas, on September 5, 1928. His
father was Walter Henry Breen. His mother
was Mary Helena Brown Mehl. That much
is known from his birth certificate which
was filed on November 19, 1942, when

57

Walter was fourteen years old. His year of
birth aligns with his listing in the 1930
census.

The story of his parents is also cloudy. They
were neighbors in Parkersburg, West
Virginia, and married to other people. It was
probably early in 1928 when Walter changed
his name and the new couple moved to
Texas. It is likely they never married and
were separated in 1937. Walter was known

as Walter Brown when his mother took him
back to West Virginia.

Walter submitted a bit of an autobiography
to Penny-Wise, for the issue of January 1,
1978.

“September 5, 1930, born, San Antonio,
Texas (?). Abandoned, Foundling, Brought
up by adoptive father, a traveling salesman,
whose name I bear: and by adoptive mother,
of whom the less said the better — suffice it
to say that she was about as fit to raise a kid
like me as a chimpanzee would have been.”

[Author’s comment: I believed this at the
time and the story got into American
Numismatic Biographies. 1 provided the
story to Moira Greyland who took it as the

Press of Atlantic City 6/23/1954 p. 19
Coin Expert
Penalized In
Morals Case

A young man described as an
outstanding scholar and author-
ity on coin collections was fined
$200 by Municipal Judge Stephen
A. Damico yesterday on charges
of molesting children on the
beach near Connecticut Ave.

Walter Breen, 25, of 243 E. 59th
St., New York City, was describ-
ed by his attorney, as an honor
graduate of Johns Hopkins College
a Phi Beta Kappa, and recogniz-
ed as a numismatist.

He was arrested by Lifeguards
Joseph McNamara and William
McCullough on June 6.

Judge Damico dismissed a
charge of indecency against Breen
pending approval of the prosecu-
tor’s office. .

58

Walter Breen in Johns Hopkins
University yearbook, 1953

"

NS

truth in her book, The Last Closet.|

Mary Brown put Walter in an orphanage in
West Virginia and got a job there as a janitor.
This would have been around 1940. Walter
later said that the only love he ever
experienced was with a priest at the
orphanage. While in the Air Force in 1946,
he was severely beaten when it was learned
that he was homosexual.

He was in and out of VA hospitals between
1946 and 1950.

Walter attended Johns Hopkins University
and completed his degree during the 1952-
53 school year. He took exams to pass
courses rather than attending classes.

In 1954 he was convicted of child
molestation in Atlantic City and put on
probation.

Breendoggle

Walter and Marion Zimmer Bradley were
active in the Sci-fi community around
Berkeley. Walter molested children he met
as sci-fi conventions. In 1961 there was a
proposal to ban Walter from attending the
19" World Science Fiction Convention.
There was a feeling within the community

that they were all strange in different ways
and should be tolerant of the strangeness in
others.

A second attempt to ban him in 1963 failed
but he was banned from the 1964 Worldcon.
Some hoped that marriage would change his
behavior.

Walter married Marion Zimmer Bradley on
the day of romance, Valentine’s Day,
February 14, 1964. The marriage was
apparently successful, to the extent that their
son Patrick was born 8% months later on the
day of spooks, Halloween, October 31,
1964.

Marion was aware of Walter’s history and
was generally tolerant. She was also his
defender and enabler.

Walter and Marion were 1960’s hippies.
Walter wore a tie-died shirt, flower print
shorts and sandals. This look persisted for
decades.

Walter wrote Greek Love under the name J.
Z. Eglinton, and published by Oliver Layton
Press in 1964.

An Amazon quote from the publisher:

“The author of Greek Love believes that
boy-love is a potential social force for good.
In Ancient Greece, it was closely bound up
with the highest ethical and philosophical
ideals. Therefor we must seriously consider
the possibility that boy-love can be a force
for good right now, in our own country,”

SCA

On May Day, May 1, 1966, residents of
Greyhaven including Walter and Marion
hosted a party in Berkeley. It featured
medieval costumes and _ themes. This
developed into the Society for Creative
Anachronism (SCA).

SCA was another community of misfits who
were tolerant of other misfits. At the SCA
fairs, children might be free to move about
without supervision. It was another great
environment for Walter to thrive.

On July 5, 1989, his daughter walked in on
Walter who was with a boy who had been

59

Walter Breen, 1988

visiting. She left the house and called police.
When she later met with the police, she gave
a detective the names of 22 possible victims.

Walter was arrested on April 23, 1990, based
on the results of their investigation. He
pleaded guilty to one felony count and was
treated as a first-time offender. On
November 30, 1990, he was sentenced to
three years probation.

Another victim came forward and his father
reported this to police.

Walter Breen was arrested at Superior Stamp
and Coin Galleries on September 26, 1991.
He was charged with eight counts of lewd
and lascivious acts with a minor under the
age of 14.

On November 27, 1991, he pleaded innocent
on all charges. Walter was suffering from
cancer and treated in a prison hospital. On
July14, 1992, he was sentenced to three
years for violating probation. On December
15, 1992, he was sentenced to an additional
ten years in prison for the eight counts in the
second case.

Walter was confined to a wheelchair in
prison and was the victim of frequent
assaults from other prisoners.

Walter Henry Breen died in the prison
hospital at Chino Penitentiary on April 27,
1993. His body was cremated and his ashes
spread in Mendocino County.

[Author’s comment: I met Walter at the
1981 ANA Convention in San Diego. I met
with him and we corresponded about the die
states of Classic Head cents of 1808-1812.

At another ANA convention, I saw him
sitting at a table playing with a spinning disk
that reflected light in shimmering colors. I
realized later this was something he did to
attract curious children.

Over the years I have met three father-son
combinations who met Walter when the son
was at a vulnerable age. All told a similar
story. They got a creepy vibe from Walter
and the father made sure to keep the son at a
safe distance. |

Robert Socrates Bashlow was never
convicted of being a pedophile. His history
with Walter Breen suggests they shared
some common interests.

Bashlow was enrolled at Columbia
University in what was called the Columbia
superkids project. In 1953, Dr. William
Herbert Sheldon was working with the
Columbia Medical School Constitutional
Laboratory, Shelon, then 54 was a mentor to
Walter Breen, then 25, who was working in
the program as the coordinator of
parapsychological research. Bashlow, then
about 14, was enrolled in the project.

Although Bashlow must have had a genius
1.Q. there is no record that he pursued higher
education. His only reported profession was
in the coin business as a publisher and
promoter.

Bashlow published Walter Breen’s Dies and
Coinage through his QWERTYUIOPress in
1962. Then in his Coin World ads, he offered
a copy free with a purchase.

Bashlow joined the ANA and converted to
life membership in January 1962. Then in
July 1962, he was expelled without any
stated reason.

This quote is from Donald Mader in Beyond
Stonewall: Activists for Gay and Lesbian
Rights in Historical Contest (2002):

“Tt is one of his specialized books, Dies and
Coinage, published by Robert Bashlow in
1962, which provides a link to our topic

60

here. Breen and Bashlow shared more
interest than numismatics: both had an erotic
interest in younger males. A wealthy coin
and bullion dealer who had already created
one press for numismatic publications,
Bashlow was persuaded to fund another
press for issuing material on ‘sexual
questions,’ Called the Oliver Layton Press,
its first book was Greek Love (1964) by
Breen, who for it adopted the pseudonym
created for him by Bashlow, by which he
was to be known in homosexual circles, J. Z.
Eglinton.”

Marion Zimmer Bradley (MZB) gave a
deposition in a civil case on December 14,
1998 questioned by Christopher Dolan.
These are excerpts:

MR, DOLAN: To your knowledge, did
Walter ever have sexual contact with your
son David?

MZB: I asked David one time about it, and
he told me one of Walter’s friends had
propositioned him and that he said no. and
so the friend said, “Okay, Let’s go ride the
merry-go-round.”

MR. DOLAN: Do you know the name of the
person who propositioned him?

MZB: Yes, I do. His name was Robert
Bashlow.

MR. DOLAN: What occasioned you to ask
your son David about whether or not he had
been propositioned by anyone?

MZB: Because I know Robert Bashlow, and
I knew that anything with two legs which
got in his vicinity was likely to be
propositioned.

MR. DOLAN: I didn’t hear that last part.

MZB: I said that anyone in his vicinity of
either gender was likely to be propositioned.
I never paid much attention because my
attitude was well no harm in asking as long
as he takes no for an answer.

MR. NOLAN: So, your understanding at
that time in 1964 is that there was nothing
inappropriate about an older man asking a
minor for sex as long as the young boy said
no?

MZB: As long as the young boy has plenty
of opportunity to say no.

MR DOLAN: Okay. When your son
indicated that he had been propositioned by
Robert Bashlow, did you do anything to
prohibit Mr., Bashlow from coming in
contact with your son?

MZB: No. I think I might have thought it
was funny.

MR. DOLAN: So, you thought the fact that
an older man propositioned your then 13-
year-old son was funny?

MZB: I thought Robert Bashlow was a
pretty funny individual.

MR DOLAN: And you took no steps to
prevent your son from coming in contact
with a man who you knew had
propositioned him?

MZB: Considering that David was about six
feet and Bashlow, as I remember, was about
five foot, one, I didn’t worry about it.

MR. DOLAN: My question is a little bit
more specific, though. Do you recall Walter
saying anything to you on the subject of
Bashlow propositioning your 13-year-old
son?

MZB: As I 68

said, I think
he said

_NUMISMATIC NEWS

A hotel fire in varnchon,
Spain, has claimed the life of
_ New York City coin dealer
Robert Bashlow, 40, owner of
Williams Trading Co.
A coin collector since age 10,
Mr. Bashlow was best known in
_ U.S. numismatics circles as the
originator of the Second Con-
federate cent restrikes of 1961.
In recent years, he had dealt
primarily in foreign coinage
and was a frequent advertiser
in World Coin News.

among the 16 persons who died
in a fire that leveled the
Corona del Aragon Hotel in

reportedly had

to rest for some buying and

61

Robert Bashlow

something like, Do you know what that idiot
Bashlow has done now? and then he
recounted a story.

MR. NOLAN: To your knowledge, did he
express anything else that you understood to
be disapproval to what Mr. Bashlow had
done?

MZB: I think at the time he shared my belief
that David was perfectly old enough to make
his own decisions of that sort.

MR DOLAN: Okay. So, at that time it was
your belief that a 13-year-old child was
perfectly able to make their own decisions
regarding sexual contact with adults?

MZB: Oh, really, a 13-year-old child” I
wasn’t a child at 13, were you?

Those brief excerpt should suggest the
flavor of her testimony and the attitudes of
Walter, Marion and Robert Bashlow.

July 28, 1979

_ Fire Claims Life of NY. Dealer

importing significant :
quantities of coins from Spain
in recent months,

A coin dealer since 1957, Mr.
Bashlow operated White Oak
Trading Co., another New York
wholesale numismatic dealer-
ship, before forming Williams
Trading Co.a few yearsago. —~

aan sy Mr. Bashlow obtain-
the fragmented dies for the
Tor Confederate cent and had

1876 by Capt. John W, Hasel- _
tine to produce restrikes.

. Mr. Bashlow, a bachelor, is
survived by his father, Archie,
and a sister, Alice.

Ponzi Schemes

Bernard Ross Hansen a/k/a Ross B.
Hansen was the owner of Northwest
Territorial Mint (NWTM), founded in 2002.
Diane Renee Erdmann was described as
his girlfriend and vault manager.

-* ~

In 1991, Hansen pleaded guilty to two
counts of money laundering and failure to
report cash transactions to the IRS. He was
sentenced to 2/2 years in prison.

In July 2009, Northwest Territorial Mint
acquired the prestigious Medallic Art
Company. However, Northwest Territorial
Mint declared bankruptcy in April 2016.
Much of Medallic Art was then acquired by
Medalcraft Mint, Inc. Some 20.000 dies and
archival material were acquired for the
American Numismatic Society.

Hansen leased property from Bradley Cohen
and Cohen Asset Management. In 2010
Cohen won a lawsuit against Hansen who
was ordered to pay $3 million for lease
violations including environmental
contamination.

Hansen retaliated by publishing Cohen’s
name on several websites and accused him
of operating a Ponzi scheme. Cohen filed
suit for defamation on August 8, 2012.
Cohen prevailed and won the case.

In February 2016, Hansen was ordered to
pay $38 million in damages. This included
$18 million assessed to Hansen for damages
and punitive damages. The Northwest
Territorial Mint was assessed $9 million for
fraud, oppression and malice. Hansen was
charged another $7.5 million and the Mint
$3.5 million for false light invasion of
privacy. Hansen and NWTM then filed for
bankruptcy.

On April 16, 2018, Hansen pleaded not
guilty to 20 counts of wire fraud and mail
fraud. It was alleged that Hansen and
Erdmann bilked $25 million from more than
3000 customers. The indictment stated that
Hansen and Erdmann had between 2009 and
2016 taken customer payments for their
own use. They used money coming in from
new customer to pay old customers, thus
perpetrating a Ponzi scheme.

They also stored bullion for customers and
came up $4.9 million short. About 50
customers lost money and two more were
defrauded in a bullion leasing program,
There was an incidental million stolen from
a Canadian bullion producer.

The couple left home on April 29, 2022, to
avoid sentencing. They were placed on an
FBI wanted list. On May 10, they were
found at the Hadlock Hotel at Port Hadlock
and taken into custody.

On June 6, 2022, Hansen was sentenced to
11 years in prison for 14 counts of wire and
mail fraud. In 2023 he is at Sheridan FCI,

Diane Renee Erdmann was convicted of 13
counts of wire and mail fraud and sentenced
to five years in prison. In 2023 she is at
Pekin FCI.

Receiving Stolen Property

Michael R. Kirzner was a Boston coin
dealer with Michael R. Kirzner Rare Coins
and Cosmic coins.

In 1972 he was charged with receiving
stolen property taken in a burglary at the
home of Don Romano.

In 1974 he was charged with receiving
stamps stolen from the Cardinal Spellman
Museum in 1973.

On December 10, 1976, he was driving
when he was shot between the shoulders
from another passing car. He survived the
attack.

Charles L. Litman

The Oil City Derrick, July 18, 1977, page
20.

“A coin dealer was convicted of federal
charges stemming from his alleged role as a
fence for stolen silver.

A federal court jury convicted Charles L.
Litman, 38, of Wilkinsburg, of two counts of
receiving stolen good and one count of
criminal conspiracy,”

Michael Lombardi was sentenced to two
years in prison in 1981 for receiving stolen
gold and silver jewelry taken by a gang of
juvenile thieves.

Keith Richardson

The Bangor Daily News, November 24,
1992, page 5.

“Keith Richardson, the former Waterville
coin dealer convicted of fencing more than
$288,000 in stolen jewelry from the Arizona
man known as “Super Thief,’ was denied
bail Monday pending the appeal of his
conviction returned earlier this year.”

James B. Tilley had an extensive criminal
record starting at age 19. He was charged
with receiving stolen property in the same
two cases as Michael Kirzner, burglaries at
the home of Don Romano and at the
Cardinal Spellman Museum.

Robbery

*Dale J. Bissett (1940-2018) was the owner
of in !
Florida and was active with the Clearwater
Coin Club.

Dale and Elaine Bissett were robbed in
their home on January 10, 1982. Arrested in
the case were Jimmy Wayne Arnold and
George Bruse Lawall.

On January 16, Virginia Guilbeau was
robbed of diamonds worth $100,000. Six
people were charged in the case including
Dale Bissett. He was charged with armed
robbery and breaking down the jewels after
the theft but the charges were dropped. He
filed for bankruptcy in 1983.

Dale and Elaine were robbed again at Dale’s
Coin and Jewelry in anend Florida on
January 31, 1989. Two robbers took away
$45,000 in coins and Jewelry.

Larry Paul Graham was charged with
burglary in 1967 at age 17. He was arrested
for possession of stolen property from the
Dunedin robbery in February 1989 and
released on bond before robbery charges
were filed.

63

Donald Eugene Josey pleaded guilty to
armed robbery in 1973 and was sentenced to
prison for thirty years. He was arrested on
February 15 for the Dunedin robbery.

*William Slessinger a/k/a Edward
Chapman suffered a gunshot wound to the
chest during a 1960 robbery at his home in
Perinton, New York. Taken was a bag
containing $13 in pennies (cents).

Four teenagers were charged and _ three
pleaded guilty.

Wayne Thomas DeRue (17) was sent to the
State Reception Center at Elmira.

Steven Robert Dovan (21) was sent to
Elmire Reformatory.

Russell Daen Irwin (18) was sent to the
State Reception Center in Elmira.

The fourth suspect, Stephen Douglas
Breemes (20) pleaded innocent. He was
alleged to be the shooter. He had previously
been charged with stabbing another youth
during a fight. He received a sentence of 10
to 11 years at Attica.

*Ted Steven Chimel was charged in 1965
with the burglary of a home and a coin shop
after stolen coins were found during a search
of his home. He tunneled through two walls
to burglarize the SeneeavaTlh in Orange,
California. He was convicted and sentenced
to five years in prison.

In 1969, the United States Supreme Court
overturned the conviction declaring that the
search without a search warrant was illegal.

[The case was Chimel v. California. 395 U.
S. 752 (1969), now known as the Chimel
Rule. |

Later in 1969 he was again charged when
stolen coins were found from a September
15 burglary. In 1971 he pleaded guilty to a
charge of receiving stolen property.

*Charles Hindmarsh was convicted of a
Detroit bank robbery in 1967 and sentenced
to twenty years in prison, He served three
years.

In 1980 he participated in the robbery of the
Mount Pleasant Coin Exchange. Paul and

were threatened at

Patricia Vanella
gunpoint while $250,000 in coins and cash
were taken. He was convicted of robbery
and conspiracy on May 19, 1986. He was
sentenced to two-to-four years in prison. At
the time of the robbery, he was in the
witness protection program.

Philip Seslar pleaded guilty to the Mount
Pleasant robbery, cooperated with the
prosecution, and was placed on probation.
Charges against two other suspects were
dopped for lack of evidence.

*William E. Johnson and his wife were
held at gunpoint for 45 minutes during a
robbery of their home in Santa Barbara,
California, on February 2, 1968. The loss
included $75,000 in coins. W. E. Johnson
was a coin dealer and member #110 of the
Early American Coppers Club,

Charged in the crime were William Z. Swain
(32), Wayne R. Moore (33) and Susan Lynn
Nay (18). Much of the stolen collection was
found in a suitcase in the apartment of the
suspects.

64

John Blackburn (22) was indicted on
charges of burglary, robbery, kidnapping and
auto theft related to the 1968 robbery of
William E, Johnson.

Wayne R. Moore (33) was indicted on
charges of burglary, robbery, kidnapping and
auto theft related to the 1968 robbery of
William E. Johnson.

Susan Lynn Nay (18) was charged in the
1968 robbery of William E. Johnson.

William Z Swain (32) was charged in the
1968 robbery of William E. Johnson.

*Rudolph Kohler (1867-1934) was the
victim of a robbery on November 11, 1933.
His shop was on the twelfth floor on Fifth
Avenue in New York, One of three robbers
hit him in the head with a gun and knocked
him unconscious. The estimated loss was
$3000.

His death on January 23, 1934, may have
been brought on by the robbery.

The same shop of Rud Kohler was robbed
on December 22, 1938. Assistant manager
Edmund W. May ducked into a back room
and grabbed a revolver to fire seven shots at
the two robbers. Albert Weiner died of his
injuries. The other robber escaped.

The medical examiner declared that Albert
Weiner died of a self-inflicted gunshot
would. He had a long criminal record with
18 previous arrests.

*Ray Lawrence, (1904-1968) a coin dealer
from Anamosa, Iowa, was beaten during a
robbery on July 3, 1961. Taken was his
wallet with $60 and a $1000 check.

Ray and his twin brother Roy were
publishers of The Coin Collector.

John De Less pleaded guilty to charges of
aggravated robbery, carrying a concealed
weapon and larceny in the robbery of Ray
Lawrence. He was sentenced to 23 years in
the Anamosa reformatory.

Douglas Charles Hobart was also charged.

*Robert Lee was the owner of Madison
Coin and Stamp shop in Madison,

Wisconsin. The February 1984 robbery
yielded $30,000 in cash and coins.

Myron Michael Holmes was convicted and
sentenced to 41 years in prison for the
Madison Coin and Stamp robbery. He had
served previous prison sentences, and was
called a habitual criminal.

Linda Gordon was convicted in Ilinois in
1976 of manslaughter for stabling a woman
in an argument over a coat, For this she
received a four-year prison term. She
received a ten-year sentence for involvement
in the Madison Coin and Stamp shop
robbery.

*On March 24, 1976, Kevin Meuse escaped
from the Suffolk County Courthouse while
awaiting charges of assault and battery. He
pried a grating off a fourth-floor window,
found a rope hanging from construction
scaffolding and climbed down to the
courtyard.

Meuse was charged in the March 24, 1979,
robbery of in
Lynn, Massachusetts. As he was fleeing the
scene, he exchanged shots with a police
officer. He was convicted on October 10,
1979, and sentenced to 18 to 30 years in
state prison. He was released from prison in
September 1996 after serving seventeen
years.

Then in November, he murdered 19-year-old
Aislin Silva by snaping her neck. Associates
helped to dismember her body which was
buried behind a school. It was discovered by
investigators on December 1, 2006.

On March 4, 1997, Meuse was arrested
while attempting to rob an armored delivery
van.

On March 8, 1997, he was found hanging
from a torn shirt in his cell. He was 38 years
old.

*John Vernon Penrod was convicted of the
July 5, 1978, robbery at the

Gane and sentenced to five years in prison.
He lost his right eye in a police shoot-out as
he tried to escape.

Also charged was Forrest Silva Tucker
(1920-2004) who received a_ ten-year

65

sentence for the 1978 Modesto robbery as an
ex-felon.

Tucker had a long
criminal record. He
was convicted of
bank robbery in
1953. In 1972 he
was charged with
assault with a
deadly weapon on a
police officer, auto
theft and receiving
stolen property.

In 1979 he was
serving time at San
Quentin prison. On
August 9 he escaped
with two other
inmates in a homemade kayak. While he
was out, he robbed a bank in Seekonk,
Massachusetts. In June of 1983 he was
recaptured in West Palm Beach, Florida after
a shoot-out with FBI agents.

Forrest Silva Tucker

He claimed that he made successful escapes
from prison 18 times and had unsuccessful
attempts 12 times/

Tucker died in a prison medical facility on
May 29, 2004, in Fort Worth, Texas.

The story of Forrest Tucker was presented in
a 2018 movie, The Old Man and the Gun,
starring Robert Redford.

*Coin dealer Vincent and Dorothy Ratto
and their aunt Jane Mrbzinski were
returning to the Quality Court Motor Inn in
PTE Pennsylvania, after a buying trip
when they were robbed at gunpoint. On
June 4, 1980, they were ambushed in the
motel stairwell and taken to a nearby field.

Peter Belietieri was charged with armed
robbery and conspiracy for planning the
Allentown robbery but was acquitted at trial
in 1985.

Husan Ayed Madain was charged with the
Allentown crime. He was sentenced to 90
weekends in jail.

Stanley “Starkey” Fortuniewicz (1957-
2002) was born in Poland. He was charged

and sentenced to five years in prison for the
June 1980 Allentown robbery.

In 1982, Fortuniewicz was charged with
setting a fire that destroyed an apartment
building in August 1980.

Nabih Abe “Jerry” Khalil was charged and
sentenced to six years in prison for the
Allentown robbery.

Majid Hadeed gave testimony to the
prosecutors in the Allentown case but fled to
Syria to avoid prosecution.

*Jesse C. Willard entered the Silver Towne
Coin Shop on July 28, 1973, and drew a gun
with the intent of robbery. He was shot to
death by the wife of the owner, Mrs. Leon
Hendrickson.

Silas C. Fletcher was charged with the
attempted robbery of the Silver Towne Coin
Shop in the basement of the Henrickson
home. He pleaded guilty and received a ten-
year prison sentence.

Fletcher was also suspected in the 1973
kidnapping and murder of police officer
Anthony Raymond. His body was placed in
a 55-gallon drum and _ transported to
Wisconsin. Fletcher was convicted and
sentenced to 100 to 200 years in an Illinois
prison. The judge recommended that he
never be furloughed or paroled.

*Chris Ritter was charged as_ the
mastermind behind a series of robberies
around Philadelphia. He identified other
coin dealers to be targeted. In 1999 he was
sentenced to sixteen years in prison.

Sydney Smith’s Rare Coin Shop was
robbed in Miami on January 23, 1967.
Smith was wounded in the incident.

Melvin Whittsett was shot and killed by
police officer Robert Ellsworth.

Luther Raymond Thompson was _ also
injured and arrested. He was sentenced to
fifteen years in prison.

66

Richard Lee Richardson was captured and
charged with first degree murder. He was
sentenced to ten years in prison.

Frank J. Ujlachi was suspected as the
getaway driver and charged with robbery
and murder. He was captured in Dayton,
Ohio. He was sentenced to fifteen years in
prison.

The Sydney Smith Rare Coin Shop was
robbed again on September 15. 1971, while
Smith was vacationing in Europe. Samuel
Smith, son of the owner, was confronted by
a man with a gun. He tripped the silent
alarm and police arrived.

Martin Peteski was charged with loitering
and prowling. He had recently been charged
with fifteen counts of buying, receiving and
concealing stolen property.

Gerald Isaac Sassoon was charged with
loitering and prowling.

*The home of Harry Walton in Wichita,
Kansas, was ransacked by two thieves on
October 10, 1973. When Walton and his
wife, Throne, returned home, they were
joined by two more thieves. The wife was
held hostage while Walton was kidnapped
and taken to his coin shop, where he was
forced to open the safe.

Joe Wayne Clark received a sentence of 15
years to life.

Tony Lee Scott admitted involvement and
was sentenced for 15 years to life.

Gerald Dean Weyer (1955- ) pleaded
guilty to robbery and kidnapping charges
and received two 15 years to life sentences
in the Walton case.

A. sixteen-year-old boy was placed on
probation until his 18" birthday.

On February 18, 1974, a customer grabbed
merchandise from the store of Harry Walton
and fled with Walton in pursuit. Two others
joined the chase. The thief surrendered to
police.

The Great Denver Mint Robbery

The Great Denver Mint Robbery was not
actually a numismatic crime. The story is
included here because of the location of the
crime at the Denver Mint.

In the early 1920’s, brazen gangs were
robbing banks in the central part of the
country. Apparently the authorities would
occasionally arrest, try, convict and sentence
members of a gang for crimes perpetrated by
a different gang.

The Grand Rapids Savings Bank in
Michigan was robbed on December 7, 1921,
by four armed men. Police raided a house
looking for the robbers and special officer
George Brandsma and detective Samuel
Slater were shot and killed.

Implicated in the robbery were Leo Bolger.
Robert Leon Knapp, Frank McFarland,
“Denver Bobby” Walker, and his wife
“Indian Rose.”

Another gang robbed the Hamilton County
Bank in Cincinnati on September 28, 1922.

That gang leader and mastermind was
Harvey John Bailey. Others in the gang
included Nick Traynor known to Bailey as
Chaw Jimmie, Alex Richardson known as
Dude, Alvin Johnson and Curly Santle. For
this job they added Jimmie Lindon known as
Wolf as their driver.

The Hamilton County Bank job yielded
$36,000 in cash plus piles of Liberty bonds
and negotiable securities worth $230,000.
The loot was split equally six ways and the
robbers went their separate ways. The bank
could not recover from the losses and was
absorbed by another bank.

Individuals from both gangs gathered in
Denver with the intent of robbing a bank
there. Harvey Bailey left the group to visit
his ailing brother. He identified those who
remained as Chaw Jimmie (Trainor), Alvin
Johnston (Frank Burke a/k/a Jim Clark),
Curly Santle, and Bobby Walsh (Knapp).

67

While planning the bank job, Nick Trainor
notice a truck picking up stacks of bills from
the Denver Mint. Their plans changed to
robbing a currency pickup at the Mint.

The loot was not newly minted coins, but
rather $200,000 in newly printed $5 bills
kept for safekeeping in the vaults at the
Denver Mint.

On Monday, December 18, 1922, a pickup
truck was backed up to the front door of the
Mint, ignoring the more secure delivery
entrance in the rear.

A black Buick pulled up as the Federal
Reserve Bank truck was being loaded. Three
men jumped out, a guard was shot, money
was loaded into the car.

Guards inside the Mint were alerted and
some rushed to the windows with rifles. The
guards had 106 loaded rifles and revolvers
available. Guards inside were concerned
about hitting the guards outside and only
sixteen shots were taken at the robbers. They
believed they struck one and possibly two of
the robbers. The Buick sped off and
sideswiped a truck taking out a fire hydrant
along the way.

Suspicion quickly fell on two couples who
had appeared in Denver shortly before the
robbery and disappeared shortly afterward.
The first were registered as James and
Florence Sloan. The others were Harold and
Margaret Burns.

A Rickenbacker automobile used by the
robbers was traced to a garage owned by
Otto Schultz. He was a bootlegger who
owned a soft drink parlor where the gang
met. He was arrested on January 18, 1923,
and charged as an accessory to the Mint
robbery and murder of the guard. Eventually
he gave up the alias for the gang members.
They were Chaw Jimmie (Nicholas
Traynor), Florence Burns. Frank Burke
(Alvin Johnson) and Ethel, Curly Gordon,
and Big Jim Franklin (Harvey Bailey).

Alvin Johnston took the $200,000 to
Chicago to reunite with Bailey. On January
15, Bailey and Johnston took the money to
Danny Hogan in Minneapolis.

On February 17, 1923, the Secret Service
recovered $80,000 from the robbery in
Minneapolis. Also recovered were $73.000
in bonds from a bank robbery in Walnut
Hills, Ohio.

This deal was negotiated with an agent
representing the Cincinnati bank that was
robbed before the Mint robbery. The bank
president made a statement that was picked
up by the press and the connection was
broken.

On December 1, 1934, Albert T. Clark,
Denver Chief of Detectives, announced that
the Denver Mint Robbery had been solved.
He declared that five men and two women
were responsible for the robbery.

He named Harvey Bailey, serving a life term
in Alcatraz, and Jim Clark, serving life in
Indiana. The others including Robert Leon
Knapp, Frank McFarland, Nicholas Trayner,
Florence Stone and Margaret Burns, all now
deceased.

Charles T. Linton
(1853-1922) was a 65-
year-old guard for the
Federal Reserve Bank
who was injured during
the robbery and died at
the hospital. He is the
only Federal Reserve
Bank guard to die in the
line of duty.

Harvey John Bailey
(1887-1979) (a/k/a Big
Jim Franklin, T. C.
Brennon) was known as
“The Dean of American
Bank Robbers” credited
with about thirty bank
robberies between 1920

o7
and 1933. He was a h—a
suspect in the Denver Po ae
robbery and in the Harvey John Bailey
Walnut Hills bank ,
robbery.

68

He escaped from prison in 1933 when
eleven prisoners took the warden hostage
during a baseball game. On October 7, 1933,
he was sentenced to life in prison as an
accomplice to a kidnapping in which he was
not a participant.

His arrest and trial were sensational at the
time. Authorities accused him of
involvement in the 1929 Chicago St.
Valentine’s Day Massacre, the $2 million
robbery of the Lincoln National Bank and
Trust Company in 1930, a 1932 bank
robbery in Fort Smith Kansas, and the June
17, 1933, massacre at the Union Station in
Kansas City.

In 1934 authorities announced they planned
to charge Bailey as the driver in the Denver
Mint robbery and for the murder of guard
Charles Linton. They also planned to charge
Jim Clark.

Bailey served time at Alcatraz from 1934 to
1946. He was released from prison in 1964
and died in 1979.

Bailey told his version of the story as
Robbing Banks Was my Business by J.
Evetts Haley (1973). In the book he
identified the Denver crew as Alvin
Johnston (James Clark), Curly Santle,
Bobby Walsh (Knapp) and Nick Trainor.

Margaret Burns (1902-1932) (a/k/a
“Indian Rose”, a/k/a/ Margaret Perry,
Maggie Shecog) was the common law wife
of Robert L. Walker (Robert Leon Knapp).
She was found shot dead and partly burned
in a car near Turtle Lake, Wisconsin, in
1932. It is believed she was killed to keep
her from talking about other more recent
crimes.

Jim Clark (1) (1902-1974) was too young

and inexperienced to participate in the 1922
Denver robbery. He is frequently mentioned
as the Denver robber identified in 1934.

Clark escaped from prison after being
convicted of stealing cattle. He was arrested
with Ed Davis and Frank Sawyer on June
17, 1932. They were identified by witnesses,
charged and falsely convicted of a recent
robbery in Fort Scott, Kansas.

Clark escaped With Harvey Bailey from the
Kansas State Penitentiary in May 1933 and
again in January 1934.

He was released on parole on December 9,
1969, and died on June 9. 1974.

James Clark (2) (ca 1899) (a/k/a Frank
Burke, Alvin Johnston) was born in
Missouri. He did a few jobs with Harvey
Bailey including the Denver Mint robbery.

He received a life sentence for a robbery in
Clinton, Indiana. He was paroled in June
1950 and talked with a reporter from the
Denver Post. He claimed that three of the
Denver robbers were still living.

He was identified by Albert Clark as one of
the Denver robbers but identified by Bailey
as Alvin Johnston.

“Dapper” Danny Hogan (1880-1928) was
a St. Paul gangster and Irish crime boss. He
provided protection and_ services to
criminals from around the country.

According to the FBI,
Hogan exchanged
$50,000 in used bills for
the $200,000 in new
bills taken in the Denver
Mint robbery.

Hogan died on
December 4, 1928, by a
car bomb in his garage
in St. Paul. Interesting
how the case was never
solved.

"Dapper" Danny Hogan

Robert Leon Knapp
(a/k/a Harold Burns,
a/k/a Robert L. Walker, Bobby Walsh) was
accused of robbing the Grand Rapids
Savings Bank and shooting a police officer
during the robbery. He was with the crew in
Denver but not identified by Bailey or
Schultz.

In 1934 it was reported that he was dead
with the circumstances unknown.

Frank McFarland, known as “The
Memphis Kid,’ (a/k/a “Curly” Gordon,

69

George Conklin. Paul Lattimer, Paul
Rogers) got his start in crime picking
pockets. He confessed to robbing the Grand
Rapids Savings Bank on December 7, 1921,
and to shooting a police officer following
the robbery.

He was in court on charges of stealing a ride
on the Delaware and Hudson railroad when
a constable noticed his similarity to a
wanted poster. He was taken into custody in
Whitehall, New York, on March 29, 1922.

There is a large gap in this story. If he was a
confessed bank robber and killer in New
York at the end of March, how was he free
to commit the Denver robbery in December?

Curly Santle was identified by Bailey as a
participant in the Cincinnati job and the
Denver job. He was not mentioned in news
reports.

Otto Schultz was a_ bootlegger and
proprietor of a soft drink parlor in Denver.
He cooperated with the federal authorities
and identified the Denver gang.

Florence Sloan (a/k/a Florence Thompson
a/k/a/_ Marjorie Schwartz) was a former
prostitute and the common law wife of
Nicholas Trainor. She was the “Queen” of
the mob. After the robbery she insisted on
being taken to the body of Nick Sloan.

It was reported that she was found dead in
the same car as Margaret Burns in 1932.
Other sources say it was not her and what
became of her is unknown.

Nicholas Trainor (1886-1922) (a/k/a
Jimmie Chaw, James Sloan, J. C. Sloan,
Nick Sloan) joined the Bailey crew for the
1922 Cincinnati job.

With Bailey gone, Trainor became the leader
for the Denver heist. He stood on the
running board of the getaway car and fired
shots at the Mint guards. He appeared to be
shot and was carried away in the car. He was
found in the getaway car on January 14.
1923, in a Denver residential garage. The
body was frozen and dead from bullet
wounds.

The Meyer Undertaking Company donated a
casket and The Riverside Cemetery donated

a plot. The funeral for Trainor was bigger
than that for guard Linton.

There were so many aliases that it is hard to
identify the participants in the story.

Harvey Bailey identified the Denver robbers
as Alvin Johnston (Frank Burke), Curly
Santle, Bobby Walsh (Knapp) and Nick
Trainor.

Bootlegger Otto Schultz identified the crew
as Big Jim Franklin (Harvey Bailey), Frank

Burns, Curly Gordon (Frank McFarland).
and Chaw Jimmie (Nicholas Trainor).

Denver Chief of Detectives Albert T. Clark
identified them as Harvey Bailey, Jim Clark,
Robert Leon Knapp, Frank McFarland and
Nicholas Trainor.

The Denver Mint robbery suspects served
long prison terms for other crimes. None of
them was ever charged in the Denver case.

The Dupont Heist

In 1967, Willis Dupont lived in a 42-room
mansion with his wife, a former Spanish
model, Miren de Amerzola de Balboa, his
four-year-old son Victor and one-year-old
Lammott. The home was at 3500 St.
Gaudens Road in Coconut Grove, Florida.
The home had a state-of-the art security
system with video surveillance.

Shortly after midnight on September 6,
1967, five armed gunmen entered the home
through an unlocked patio door. They burst
into the DuPont bedroom demanding money.

Their butler and housekeeper were brought
to the bedroom and held there while the
robbers searched the house for valuables.
They forced Miren to open the bedroom safe
at gunpoint. That yielded about $50,000 in
cash and jewelry.

Willis was taken downstairs and forced to
open a vault. The robbers gathered six
suitcases from the attic and filled them with
loot including cash and jewelry. They also
found albums of coins. more boxes of rare
gold and silver coins plus more than 1000
silver dollars. Total take may have included
7000 coins.

It is believed that the robbers were unaware
of the coin collection and were unprepared
to take it. They were probably unprepared to
dispose of it.

Willis provided a number of silk neckties to
bind up the victims. The robbers were told
that many of the pieces could be traced.
Before leaving the robbers suggested that

70

they might return the coins for a cash
ransom and asked for the name of DuPont’s
attorney. The robbers abandoned their stolen
car and drove off in Maren’s flashy new red
Cadilac convertible.

The butler freed himself from the ties and
police were called. Willis admitted that the
alarm system had not been turned on that
evening.

Recovery of the Coins

Efforts to recover the stolen coins began
almost immediately.

Harold Gray was the attorney for Willis
Dupont. He worked to recover the Dupont
coins.

*Edward L. Stanton was a Miami private
investigator. In January of 1968, he
negotiated the ransom of 13 Pioneer and
Territorial gold coins from the DuPont
robbery.

Stanton and his wife Barbara picked up 500
$100 bills amounting to $50,000 that were
carried in Barbara’s handbag. After the
exchange, FBI agents arrested Joseph F.
Nordello and Pasquale Sole.

The sting operation may have discouraged
the robbers from additional attempts to
ransom back the coins.

*In 1968 the Brasher Doubloon was
recovered in a sting operation. Arrested in
the case were William Metzler, his father

Eddie Metzler, Sr. his brother Eddie
Metzler, Jr. and a 16-year-old girl.

*In May of 1968, attorney William Quick
found nine gold coins’ from the
Mikhailovitch collection in the grass below
a stop sign.

*The 1855 Kellogg & Co $50 gold coin was
brought in to Metropolitan Rare Coin
Exchange in 1974 by a man identified as
Richard Martin. He was paid in bullion. The
firm was owned by Robert L Hughes and
Steven Deeds. James Leeuw was an
employee.

Leeuw received the coin as compensation
and offered it to Cohen. It was seized by the
U. S. Attorney to establish ownership.

It was identified as the DuPont piece by Dr.
Vladimere Clain-Stefanelli, John J. Ford and
Abe Kosoff. It was eventually returned to
DuPont.

*In 1980, Tom DeLorey was working for the
American Numismatic Association
Authentication Service. He received a call
from a man in Las Vegas who wanted
authentication on an 1804 dollar. DeLorey
went to Las Vegas to examine the coin but
was stood up by the coin seller.

A year later the coin was brought to the
ANA in Colorado Springs. DeLorey
matched the coin with an auction plate for
the Lindeman specimen. DeLorey and Ed
Rochette called the FBI. There’ was
inadequate evidence to prosecute the men
who submitted the coin.

Willis DuPont loaned the Linderman Class
Ill specimen to the ANA until the Cohen
coin was recovered and then donated it to
the Smithsonian.

*The Cohen specimen of the 1804 dollar
was recovered in Switzerland on April 23.
1993. Also recovered was an 1850 territorial
gold piece.

The Cohen Class I coin was donated to the
American Numismatic Association.

*In September 1999, Steve Teitelbaum,
owner of Los Angeles Coin, bought an 1866
Seated Liberty Quarter without motto. He

71

called Kevin Lipton to assist with
authentication. They returned the coin to the
DuPont family.

Later that year, Kevin Lipton bought the
building previously occupied by Superior
Galleries. He recognized the 1866 Seated
Liberty half dollar without motto in a show
cabinet. He notified Steve Deeds, manager
of the coin department, and the coin was
returned to the DuPont family.

*In September 2003, American Numismatic
Rarities (ANR) sold one of two known
examples of the 1866 Liberty Seated Dollars
without motto. The firm was contacted by a
collector who believed he may have the only
other known example, the DuPont coin.

The owner sent a photograph to John
Kraljevich at ANR. He and John Peck
confirmed that it was the DuPont coin. The
coin was returned to DuPont at the 2004
Baltimore Coin and Currency Convention.
DuPont attorney Harold Gray had pursued
the coin for 37 years.

The DuPont Rogues

Some suspects were charged with
possession of stolen property. Some were
detained for questioning but never charged.
Others were suspected of involvement
without proof.

The statute of limitations may depend on
residency, but has likely passed without any
of the original robbers being charged.

Joy Lou Belyeu was charged with receiving
coins stolen from DuPont. In 1967, she and
William Metzler had been charged with
possession of burglary tools.

Dolores Castillo was shot three times in the
head with a .32-caliber handgun on January
23. 1968. She was married to Paul Costillo
who was serving a fifty-year prison sentence
for hotel robbery.

In 1962, Mrs. Castillo was stopped by
police. Inside the station wagon was a stole
taken in a burglary at the Woolworth
mansion. A court determined that the search
was illegal.

In 1966 she was accused of attempted
bribery and shake-down of a_ building
contractor. She was convicted of grand
larceny and sentenced to 2 2 years in prison.
She was free on bond pending appeals.

Mrs. Castillo was known by authorities as a
fence for stolen jewelry. They suspect her
murder was related to the Dupont robbery
and she was killed for skimming money
from the robbers.

On May 4, 1968, abortionist Brian Male was
found shot to death in a Miami hotel room.
The same gun had been used in the
Castillo/Perez murder.

Mrs. Castillo was a player in the underworld
of organized crime and there were several
theories about her murder. As of 1981, her
murder was unsolved and there was no
proven connection to the DuPont robbery.

Eugene O. Maready was charged with the
murder of his roommate William Quick. The
murder was unrelated to the Dupont robbery.
A first-degree murder charge was reduced to
second-degree. He was sentenced to 25
years in prison.

Richard Martin sold the 1855 Kellogg $50
gold piece to Metropolitan Rare Coin
Exchange. He was not otherwise identified.

William Patrick Metzler was a diver for a
salvage company and ex-con. He was
charged with possession of the DuPont
Brasher Doubloon. The FBI sting had been
set up by his father. He claimed he stole it
from the original robber, He was convicted
in February 1969 and was sentenced to five
years in prison.

He escaped from the Pompano Beach Road
Camp on July 28, 1970, and was a fugitive
for four years. In December 1974, he
attempted to burglarize a_ wealthy
homeowner in Fort Lauderdale. The owner
had a .357 magnum under his pillow and
shot Metzler through the heart, killing him.

Joseph F. Nardello, Jr. (1926-1980) was
convicted of receiving stolen property in
December 1969 after he attempted to
ransom 13 stolen DuPont coins for $50,000.

It was reported in 1978 that he had been
arrested 17 times, convicted five times and
never spent a day in jail.

Reynold Brian Perez was found in
Japanese handcuffs, gagged, with eyes taped
and three gunshots to the back of the head.
He was a pizza cook at the Red Oven
Restaurant owned by Delores Costillo.

Authorities believed that he was killed only
because he was living with Castillo at the
time of her murder.

William Quick was a Miami attorney and
Marine veteran of World War II. He
transported the stolen Brasher Doubloon to
Los Angeles. He was found dead in his
apartment on December 24, 1968.

Robert F. Simone was initially charged
with interstate transportation of stolen
property. Actually, he had been retained to
represent the DuPont family in the
exchange. The January 1968 ransom of 13
Dupont coins was conducted in his office.

Pasquale Sole Jr. had a long police record
with many arrests but few convictions. In
1962 he was charged in the hit-and-run
death of a Philadelphia woman. He was
convicted of a burglary at the Norwood Post
Office. He was acquitted in June 1967 in the
shooting of a tavern owner. In 1968 he faced
charges for burglary. In May of 1968, he
was convicted of those charges.

On May 16, 1973, he was convicted of
participation in plotting a robbery at the
Doral Hotel on Miami Beach. He received a
ten-year prison sentence.

In 2004 it was reported that the original five
robbers had never been identified.

The Fogg Museum Heist

A visitor left a package at the security desk
at Harvard’s Fogg Art Museum on Saturday,

December 1, 1973. Later in the afternoon,
the desk got a call from a man who claimed

that he forgot to pick up the package as he
left the museum. Since it contained a
birthday gift for his daughter, he wanted to
return and pick it up.

At 12:45 a.m., a man came to the security
desk at the north entrance and asked to
retrieve the package. After gaining entrance
to the museum and picking up the package,
the man took out a small chrome plated
revolver and announced it as a hold up.

The man tied the guard with blue plastic
tape and made him lie on the floor. The
gunman then let three or four others into the
museum.

The guard was taken to the third floor. The
thieves broke into the coin room and took
out a locked safe and some loose coins from
a tray.

Responding police spotted two vehicles
outside the museum. One was a black T-bird
with a single driver and a gold colored late
model Buick with four passengers. They
sped off to the east.

Museum officials reported that the safe
contained 2,650 coins on loan to the
museum from the Dewing Greek
Numismatic Foundation plus an additional
3,000 coins from the coin room.

The loaned coins came from the estate of
Arthur S. Dewing who died in 1972. Many
had been photographed and could be
identified. Other coins had come from the
bequest of Frederick M. Watkins who had
also died in 1972. Harvard had poor records
and no photographs of thousands of other
coins in the museum.

The value of the Dewing coins was placed at
more than $1,870,000 by Dr. Leo
Mildenberg of Bank Leu in Zurich. He had
sold coins to Dewing.

Estimates of the total value of the loss varied
wildly and changed over time. Eventually
that estimate settled on $5 million dollars. At
the time, it was the largest art theft in
American History.

Suspicion fell on two men who had visited
the museum in the previous week. The older
man, about 45, had a mustache and glasses.

73

He had some knowledge of numismatics.
The younger man, about 25 had a bloblike
face. He appeared too dumb to be interested
in coins.

The day after the robbery, Cambridge police
reported they were very close to solving the
crime.

A graduate student, Patricia Erhart, was
asked to estimate how many coins were
taken. She came up with an estimate of
8,732 coins. That was probably double the
actual number.

In February of 1974, Daniel Steiner, general
counsel for the university, gave the FBI a
$25,000 check as a reward for recovery of
the coins. Nothing developed and the FBI
returned the money on February 26.

Despite the optimism of the FBI, months
went by with no positive results.

A California private investigator named
Irving Richards became involved. He
suggested that he could recover the coins for
a price, around $400,000 to $500,000.
Steiner lost interest at that number. When
the price was reduced to $250,000, Steiner
was still not interested.

When the price dropped to $50,000 in
August, Steiner began negotiations. A deal
was reached where Richards would receive
$50,000 if all the coins were recovered and a
proportional amount for partial recovery.

The FBI gave Richards the name of one of
the suspects. He and an associate, Raymond
Palmer, paid a visit to Martin G. Regan on
October 9, 1974. It was their intention to
convince Regan to reveal the location of
stolen coins.

To encourage his cooperation, they
threatened to kill him, handcuffed him,
threw him on the floor and beat him until he
was unconscious.

Regan went to the hospital for treatment and
was questioned by police. He claimed he
had been beaten by burglars. He asked the
police what would happen to someone who
provided helpful information about a major
crime. Regan decided to cooperate with

police, was granted immunity and went into
the witness protection program.

Three weeks after he was assaulted by
Richards and Palmer, Regan led police to a
remote wooded area near Lincoln, Rhode
Island. They dug up an old green tool chest,
a bowling-ball bag, 3,036 coins and 105
medals.

The FBI began making arrests on November
5, 1974. Two who were arrested were soon
released. A judge found that the state had
insufficient evidence to charge Dixon and
Megan with transportation of stolen property
across state lines.

On December 10. 1974, a grand jury
indicted Anthony B. Vaglica, Carl R. Dixon,
and Louis R. Mathis for armed robbery.
Maria T. Megna was charged as an
accessory after the fact.

Royal Canadian Mounted Police and
Montreal Police arrested three Americans on
November 8, 1974, and searched a bank
safe-deposit box rented the previous January
by Allen I. Kirchink. They recovered 854
coins that may have come from the Fogg
Museum robbery.

Museum officials David Gordon Mitten and
Patricia Erhart, now Patricia Mottahedeh,
went to Montreal to attempt to identify the
coins. The FBI forwarded identification
materials to Montreal including some of the
coins recovered in Rhode Island. Canadian
authorities were wary that the American
might attempt to switch coins.

Kirchink was put on trial in Canada on
September 12, 1975, and the Americans
were asked to authenticate coins from Fogg.
Fortunately, they were only asked about the
most valuable coins that had good accession
records. Leo Mildenberg also came from
Zurich to testify.

The court made the decision that the coins
had been stolen from the Fogg Museum and
allowed them to be returned to Cambridge.
Kirchner got a prison sentence of three-and-
a-half years.

Irving Richards wanted credit for the
recovery and payment for his efforts. It was

74

estimated that the coins recovered in Rhode
Island represented 60% of the value of the
collection and Richards was entitled to
$30,000 in payment. The FBI claimed that
everything Richards knew came from them
and the recovery was the result of the efforts
of their 40 agents and not the result of
information provided by Richards.

Richards was indicted for assault and battery
against Regan but was not sentenced to
prison, His accomplice, Raymond Palmer
received two sentences of eight years.

Regan, in turn, filed a $4,900,000 suit
against Harvard for injuries suffered in the
beating. The University claimed they had no
responsibility for the actions of Richards.
Eventually the attorney for Regan decided
not to pursue the case.

On May 5, police dug up a red fishing tackle
box wrapped in a plastic bag. Inside was
Dixon’s share of the loot amounting to 2000
coins.

A week later police dug up a briefcase in a
basement with 883 coins. Total recovery was
6773 coins and 105 medals.

The Dewing pieces included a series of
seven Macedonian silver coins for Eion with
each featuring a duck. Six were with the
coins originally recovered. In 1994, a
cleaning woman found the seventh under the
edge of a rubber-based carpet in the coin
room.

Anthony B. Vaglica was identified as the
mastermind. At the time of the Fogg trial, he
was serving a seventeen-year sentence for a
Rhode Island armed robbery. He was
convicted and received a sentence of 15 to
20 years. He received a lower sentence than
others because his share of the loot had been
recovered.

Carl R. Dixon was convicted and received a
sentence of 20 to 30 years in prison.

Allen I. Kirchink was convicted in
Montreal of possession of stolen property
and sentenced to three-and-a-half years in
prison.

Louis Mathis was convicted and received a
sentence of 20 to 30 years in prison.

Maria T. Magna was charged as an
accessory and received five years of
probation. It was at her house that the gang
divided up the loot.

Raymond Palmer received two consecutive
eight-year terms for the beating of Regan.

Martin G. Regan was granted immunity
for his testimony and placed in witness
protection. His new name was not revealed.

Irving J. Richards was not paid any
reward money and was not sentenced for the
beating of Regan.

Safe Cracking

*Ernest Ray Brooks was charged with
burglary and being an ex-felon in possession
of a pistol following a burglary and safe
cracking at Lincoln Center coin shop. As he
was trying to flee on December 20, 1964, he
wrecked his car and scattered coins on the
ground.

In May of 1951 he escaped from the
criminal ward of Mendocino State Hospital.

In November 1951, he made a brief escape
from San Quentin Prison. He _ was
discovered in the breakfast line in an
adjacent building.

In 1954 he escaped from prison in
Oklahoma by cutting through a steel fence.
He was recaptured after two days.

Brooks had a long record of burglaries. In
1960 he was paroled in Oklahoma after
serving 6% years of a 27-year sentence.

In January 1965 he used a spoon to unscrew
a metal plate and then attempted to use the

plate to open a jail door. He was charged
with attempted escape and destruction of

property.

In June of 1969, he was being held awaiting
arraignment when he broke through the
ceiling tiles and crawled up into a maze of
wire, pipes and ventilation ducts. He was
caught after a two-hour search.

Then in July of 1969, he set fire to his shirt
and filled his cell with smoke.

*Harbor Coin of Gurnee, Illinois, was
burglarized twice on January 28 and March
13, 2013. In the second case, the loss was
about $200,000 in cash and coins. Two
safecrackers were charged with the crime.

Michael Paulson had a long history as a
safecracker, He pleaded guilty and was
sentenced to 23 years in prison.

Robert Boardman pleaded guilty to felony
theft and was sentenced to two years in
prison.

Tax Evasion

William Dominick was the owner of
Westwood Rare Coin. He was charged with
failing to pay more than $400.000 in taxes
owed between 2010 and 2014. He was
sentenced to 15 months in prison and
ordered to pay restitution.

LaVere Redfield is well known for his
collection of silver dollars and a 1952
burglary.

In 1960, he was convicted of avoiding
payment of $335,000 in income taxes for
1953 through 1955. He received a five-year

75

prison sentence
and a $60,000 fine.
He served time at
Terminal Island
Prison near Long
Beach. He was
released after two
years.

Dennis Steinmetz.
President of
Steinmetz Coins
and Currency Inc,

LaVere Redfield, 1960

was charged with fraud in avoiding
$400,000 in state sales tax. He was charged
with 48 counts of filing fraudulent sales tax
returns and 48 counts of refusing to collect
sales tax.

James Clark (3) known as “Small Bad
Jim” stole gold bars from the Denver Mint
in February 1864. There is a brass marker
telling the story on 17" Street in Denver.

Henry S. Cochran was a weighing clerk at
the Philadelphia Mint. Over a period of ten
years, he stole $134.000 in gold bars from
the Mint, ending in 1893.

The Bureau of Engraving and Printing
suffered a $160,000 employee theft in 1954.
The plant had dummy packages of unprinted
currency. Two of these were substituted for
actual cash and carried out with Christmas
packages under a pair of dirty pants. It was
the largest theft in BEP history.

James Rufus Landis received a sentence of
three to nine years and a fine of $10,000.

Jeff Larson was the proprietor of American
Coin and Gallery in Billings, Montana. He
was charged with stealing rare coins and
silverware from a safe in a building he
leased.

He received a sentence of 20 years with all
but three years suspended and ordered to
pay $75,000 in restitution.

Charles H. Nelson received a sentence of
two to eight years and a $3000 fine.

William Giles received a sentence of two to
eight years and a $3000 fine.

Roger C. Patterson received a sentence of
20 months to five years.

Edith I. Chase was placed on probation for
one to three years.

Organized thefts occurred at _ the
Philadelphia mint in 1973. Employees left
bags of coins worth $6,100 in a location

Theft

76

It was alleged that he recorded transactions
through Delaware rather than Pennsylvania.

Steinmetz pleaded guilty to one count, was
sentenced to two months in prison and
assessed $10,000 in costs.

where they could be removed by a vending
machine employee.

Gerald Flicker was placed on five years
probation and assesses a $2000 fine.

Nicholas Francesco was sentenced to three
months in prison, four years probation and a
$5000 fine.

Timothy Warren was given two years
probation and a $5000 fine.

Nicholas DiDonato was the vending service
employee. He received three years probation
and a $1,500 fine.

William Gray had worked at _ the
Philadelphia since 1996. He was discovered
in 2011 to have stolen presidential coins that
were missing the edge lettering. He sold
32.000 coins to a California dealer. Value
was about $2.4 million dollars. He received
a 36 month prison sentence.

Alan J. Brotman was the owner of
Numismatic Gallery Inc. from 1973 to
December 1975. He filed for bankruptcy in
February 1976.

On June 23, 1976, Brotman was found
guilty of larceny for stealing two rare coins
worth $2,500 from a client. He was
sentenced to four years in prison.

In October of 1976, he pleaded guilty to
addition charges of thefts from other clients.
He owed $15,350 to a gas station owner and
$5,000 to a Baltimore obstetrician. He was
sentenced to four years in prison and
ordered to pay restitution but he had no
assets.

In 1977 he was expelled from the Early
American Coppers Club for unethical
conduct.

By 1979. he moved to Iowa and established
Alan Brotman Investment Corp. in West
Des Moines. In 1980, he claimed to be
Iowa’s largest gold and silver trader.

In 1981, he filed for bankruptcy again.

On July 27, 1984, he was sentenced to ten
years in prison. His sentence was suspended
after just four months and he was put on
two-years probation.

Travis Burrell
walked into
Voecks’ Fox Valley
Coin & Diamonds
in Kimberly,
Wisconsin, on

March 28. 2022. He
laid a wad of money
on the counter and
said he wanted to
buy gold coins.
When a clerk came
out of the vault with
a tube of gold coins
worth more than
$43,000, he grabbed the coins and went out
the door.

Travis Burrell

He was followed out by an armed security
guard who fired as the fleeing car attempted
to run him over. The SUV was stopped by
police in Winnebago County.

In court he pleaded no contest to a charge of
felony retail theft as party to a crime. On
December 22, 2022, he was sentenced to
three years in prison.

Orville Harrington was charged with the
theft of $100,000 in gold from the Denver
mint in 1920. He was arrested on February 5
when a gold bar was found in the hollow of
his wooden leg. He received a_ prison
sentence of ten years.

David Mattsen pleaded no contest to
charges of conspiracy to commit grand
larceny in the theft of silver from Ted
Binion. He had been Binion’s ranch
manager. He was required to do 200 hours
of community service.

77

George A. McCann was employed as Mint
cashier during 1934 to 1940. It is believed
that he stole 1933 Double Eagles from the
Mint.

On May 26, 1941, he pleaded guilty to
stealing coins from the Mint. He was
sentenced to a year and a day at Lewisburg
federal penitentiary.

Michael Milet pleaded no contest to
conspiracy to commit grand larceny in the
theft of silver from Ted Binion. He paid a
$2000 fine.

Pamela Jo Rosas (65) was a mail clerk at
the Beaumont, Texas, Post office. She was
convicted of theft from the mails, sentenced
on March 4, 2024, to 37 months in federal
Prison, and ordered to pay restitution of
$179, 271.15.

One of the victims was Universal Coins and
Bullion in Beaumont. They filed claims for
stolen coins and were assured that the thefts
occurred after the coins left the Beaumont
facility. Michael Fuljenz is president of
Universal Coins and Bullion. He reported
that the company suffered losses of
$400,000 in one year.

Rosas came under suspicion for her handling
of packages and diversion of packages that
contained tracking devices. A search of her
apartment revealed hundreds of stolen coins.

Charles P. Rumpp was foreman of the
cashier’s counting room and was charged in
1941 for thefts from the Philadelphia Mint.
The coins stolen were old defaced coins
returned to the Mint to be melted and
recycled.

Roy G. Russell admitted that he stole $125
in small coins from
the Mint in 1936.

Wyatt Yeager was
collections manager
at the American
Numismatic

Association _ briefly

Wyatt Yeager

from January to March 2007. In October
2007, an investigation began when it was
discovered that coins were missing from the
ANA collections.

Yeager consigned stolen coins to a May
2007 auction in Baltimore, a June 2007
auction in St. Louis and a July 2007 auction
in Melbourne, Australia. Most notable was

Abdullah-Salaam, Seifullah, killer...............0. 28
Albright, Richard, fraud .............ccscsscccceeesesseneees 13
Alger, Kevin Richard, mail fraud ................000008 17
Allen, James Milton, victim............ 30, 37, 42, 48
Allender, Kenneth Derek, accomplice........ 28, 46
Allgood, Jordan, Victim .........ccccccccssssseeeeees 29, 54
Anderson, Jay B., tax fraud.........ccccccccccceseessrtees 18
Anderson, Lynwood Scott, accomplice ............ 28
Anderson, Theodore, Minnesota .............ccccc08 25
Bachman, Carl Walter, Victim ...........cccccceeeeees 47
Bachman, Gloria Wanzenried, victim............... 47
Bailey, Harvey John, robbery...........c.:scccccceeeeees 68
Barber, Bruce, ViCtiN ..........ccccccccececeseeeceeeeeeeeees 47
Barber, Leonard Lee, Minnesota.............ccccccee 25
Barnes, John Stevens, accessory... 28, 48
Bashlow, Robert Socrates, pedophile............... 60
Bateman, Norman, burglar .............ccssscsscceeeeeeees 5
Bates, Randall J., burglary ............ccccsssssceceeeeeeees 6
Beckman, Jason Bo Alan, mail fraud ................ 18
Behn, Michael Scott, killer... cece 29, 53
Belletieri, Peter, acquitted ............cccceeeeeeeeeees 65
Bernstein, Ronald W., money laundering......... 27
Berry, Douglas J., Victim .............c000c0e 30, 31,52
Bibee, James D., VICTIM ...... ccc cece eeeeeees 41, 47
Binder, ISaac, FrAUC..... ce ccccececeeeeeceeeeeeeeeeeeess 13
Binion, Ted, ViCtIN ..........cccccccececeeeceeeceeeeeeeeeeees 53
Bissett, Dale J., ViCtiM..... cc ccccceceeeceeeeeeeeees 63
Blackburn, JONN, robber... ccececeeeeeeeeeeees 64
Blankenship, Kayla Kristina, killer............... 29, 57
Block, Randy, VICTIM ..........:cccccccccessssssteeeeeseesees 28
Blodgett, Michael E., mail fraud... 18
Boardman, Robert, thief ..........cccccccccceeeeeeeeees 75
Boshoff, Ronald, money laundering................. 27
Boyd, James Albert, Victim............cccccsececees 42,51
Breemes, Stephen Douglas, robbery ............... 63

Index

78

an Australian 1813 Holey dollar that
realized $155,755 in the sale.

On January 12. 2012, he pleaded guilty to
the theft of 300 coins with a value of about
$1 million. On April 24, 2012, he was
sentenced to 27 months in federal prison and
ordered to pay $948,505 in restitution.

On October 23, 2012, the 1813 Holey dollar
was returned to the ANA Money Museum.

Breen, Walter Henry, pedophile ................068 57
Breon, Charles Michael, killer.................... 29, 45
Brockman, Dwight M., victim unsolved........... 56
Brookes, Bentley, VictiM............cc000c00 36, 40, 56
Brooks, Ernest Ray, safecracker ..........::scccccceees 75
Brotman, Alan J., theft... ccessseeeeeseereeees 76
Burnie, Robert Harry, aUthOr............cccccccccceeeeeees 3
Burns, Clyde Therone Walker, accomp. 29, 36, 46
Burns, Margaret, ACCOMPIICE.............:0cseccceeeees 68
Burrell, Travis, theft ............c:cccssssssssessseseerereees 77
Caitch, Joel, mail fraud................ccccccceceeeeeeeeeee 14
Calvert, Joseph Miller, mail fraud ................06 15
Campbell, David Robert, killer ................. 29, 54
Cashatt, Leo Nordean, Jr., victim ............... 40, 52
Caudill, Christopher M., accessory ............ 29, 56
Caudill, James Matthew, killer ................0. 29, 56
Caudill, Patricia A., ACCESSOLY ..........eeeeeeeeee 29, 56
Cerrito, Antonio F., burglar ........c.ccccccccscsssessseeees 6
Chambers, Paul, accomplice ............::00000 29, 45
Chapman, Edward, ViCtiM..........::ccccccecessessreeees 63
Chase, Edith |., theft.................ccccccceseseseseseeeee 76
Chen, Yzyy Bin, bank fraud..........c.ccccccessessseeees 12
Chesnulavich, Joseph W., killer..............00 29, 44
Chimel, Ted Steven, burglary ...........ccccceseseeees 64
Chrans, Mark, money laundering ..............:006 27
Christian, Benjamin Franklin, accomplice.. 30, 50
Clark, James (2), robbery .........cecceccceesseceesseeeees 69
Clark, James (3), thief ..........ccccccsccsssseceesseeees 76
Clark, Jim (1), robbery...........cccccsccsssseeeesseeees 68
Clark, Joe Wayne, robbery .........cccccccccessessseeees 66
Clark, Paul A., bUrglary..........cccccsesssceceeseesssssaeees 6
Clavender, Sherman,victim unsolved............... 43
Clotfelter, James Timothy, killer................. 30, 50
Cochran, Henry S. theft............cccsccccccscssssssseeees 76
Cohen, George Thomas, VictiM..............0cseceeees 49

Cole, Willis JoWn, Victim ...........ccccccceeeeeeees 28, 53

Collins, Frank, aliaS..........cccccccccccccceeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeees 5
Comeau, Barbara Ann, ViCtiM .............000068 29, 44
Conley, Winford John, killer... 30, 45
Conner, Kimberly Carol, killer.................0008 30, 46
Cook, Trevor GilSON, fraUd...........cccccceceeeeeeeeeeees 18
Cooper, Ronald, ACCESSOPY ........:c:sscccccecssessereees 30
Corsa, Lawrence, mail fraud............ccccccceeeeeeees 15
Cox, Ginger Lee, ACCESSOLY...........ccceceeeeeeees 30, 56
Crane, Joseph D., killer ............ccceseeceeeeeeees 30, 45
Crawford, James Edward, victim unsolved....... 44
Cromley, Ed, SUSP@C ..........cececsessececeeeesssesssaeeeeees 5
Cronk, Donald Everett, killer ..............00008 30, 49
Crosby, Powell Clayton, accomplice........... 30, 47
Crossfield, Bruno Henry, victim unsolved ........ 44
Cruz, Joseph P., ACCESSOPY .........sesscccceeeeeeees 30, 53
Cucilic, Joseph, victim unsolved.............::000008 43
Culwell, Earl Howard, accomplice.............. 30, 46
Cuomo, Damien, accomplice ............... 30, 31, 52
Davenport, Gavid, Minnesota ...........::ccccceeeeees 25
Davies, Edward Everett, victim................0 35, 49
Davis, Doug, iNVEStIZatOr...........ccccccececececeeeeeeees 50
De Less, JOHN, robbery... ececcseesssteeeeeeeeeees 64
Derezinski, Andrzej, tax fraud ...........:cccccceeeeees 19
DeRue, Wayne Thomas, reoobery .............000e 63
DiDonayo, Nicholas, theft ..............cccsssceceeeeeeees 76
Dimmick, Walter Norton, embezzlement ........ 12
DiSantis, Stephen, killer .............ccccsesseeeeees 31,49
Dixon, Carl R., thieh...... cc ccccececececeeeeeeeeeeees 74
Domnitz, Justin Luis, Minnesota ..............cccccee 25
Dovan, Steven Robert, robbery..........ccccccceceeees 63
Drummond, Robert, Witness ..........cccccccecseeeeeees 47
Duke, Gary, Victim .............000008 33, 38, 39, 42, 57
DUNN, ROSE, VICTIM .........cccececseseseseeceeeceeeeeeseeeees 47
Duperton, Robert, mail fraud............:ccccccceeeees 15
Durand, Gerald Joseph, Minnesota.................. 19
Edmunds, Paul, ViCtin...........ccccccccceceeeeeeees 29,57
Edwards, Roy A., VICTIM .........ccccccseesssteeeeees 33,52
Efird, Ryan Anthony, killer ...............ceccceeees 31,55
Erdmann, Diane Renee, Ponzi scheme............. 62
Ethington, Forest Leon, mastermind....31, 49, 50
Evans, Gary Charles, serial killer .......... 30, 31, 52
Fancher, Alton Woodruff, Jr., accomp. .31, 36, 46
Ferns, Raymond J., Victim ............cceceessceeeeeeeeees 44
Ferro, Alfio Anthony, accomplice ............... 32,45
Fiegener, William Arthur, victim................ 31, 49
Finnegan, Kelly, SUrVIVOF..........cccceseesssseceeeeeeeeees 40
Fisher, John B., ACCOMPIICE ............cseseeeceeeeeeees 32

79

Fisher, S.H., DUrglar..........cccsscccccscessssssseeeeeeseessees 5
Fitzpatrick, Michael Kevin, fraud ...........ccccceees 19
Fletcher, Silas, rODD@rY...........:cccccsccssssssseeeeeeees 66
Flicker, Gerald, theft..............c:ccccsssssssssesesrereeees 76
Flouta, Joseph, killer ..........ccccccccccsesssessseeees 32,53
Flynn, Jay Philip, fraud ..........ccccccceccssssssseeeeeeens 20
Ford, Bobby Ray, accomplice .............:0:006 32, 50
Fortuniewicz, Stanley, robbery ..........:.:sccccceees 65
Francesco, Nicholas, theft...............c:c:csseeeee 76
Fredin, Scott K., Minnesota.............c:cccseeeeee 25
Frost, Dwyaine Edward, victim unsolved......... 49
Gale, Anthony Louis, Victim ............ccccceee 39, 54
Garcia, Joshua Michael, killer .................0. 32,56
Gates, Michael Jerome, killer.................0008 32, 46
Gazzigli, Anthony, burglary ........cc:cccccccscssssssseees 5
Gazzigli, Louis, burglary ............ccccsccccccesessessseees 5
Gentry, John Kelly Jr., suspect... 33, 49
Gentry, Kevin, killer... cecssseceeeeeeeeeees 33,53
Gibson, Eldridge Rogerdell, victim............. 31,55
Giles, William. theft ..................ccccccceseseseseseeeee 76
Giordano, Leona Mae, pickpocket..............0:006 5
Glaser, Charles Lynn, author... eeeeeeeeeee 4
Goldstein, Robert, ACC@SSOPY .........cccccceseesssteees 33
Goodman, Morton Christopher, counterfeiter ..9
Gordon, Linda, robbery............cccccccccceeessessreees 65
Grady, Tiffany Norwood, fraud ..............0c00ceees 20
Graham, Edward L, killer................000000000088 33,50
Graham, Larry Paul, robbery............ccccceessseeees 63
Grant, Peter M., VICTIM ..........cccceeseseseeeeeeees 35, 52
Gray, Roy Earl, counterfeiter ............cceeseessseeees 9
Gray, William, theft............cccccsessssceeecessesssaeees 76
Greagen, Clarence, roDbery.......cccccccccccessesssteees 7
Greco, Jon Jason, Minnesota .............cccceceeeeeees 20
Gulde, John, mail fraud...............ccccccceeeeeeeeeee 15
Gundy, Robert Earl, fraud ........cccsccccccecessessseees 20
Haber, Martin Eugene, mail fraud ...............06 15
Hadeed, Majid, robbery...........cccccceessssseeeeeeees 66
Halfon, Steven M., victim..............000 35, 40, 54
Halpern, William Charles, "Billy", victim.......... 50
Hamilton, Mary E, Victim ............cccccsesssceeeeeees 29
Hanisco, Raymond Francis, fraud...........ccccceees 20
Hanna, William Rogers, killer..............0:006 33,47
Hansen Bernard Ross, Ponzi scheme................ 62
Harrington, Orville, theft ..........ccccccsssseeeeeeees 77
Harris, Joseph Maurice, killer ...............006 33,52
Hazelwood, Jack D., disappeared...........cccceee 10
Hefferlin, Jonathon, fraud............:cceeeeeeseeeeeee 13
Heinrich, William, disappeared ..............ccccceees 10

Helmer, Dennis Charles, fraud ................0.. 20, 26

Hendrickson, David J. money laundering......... 27
Hendrickson, Leon, money laundering............. 27
Hendrickson, Stanley R. money laundering .....27
Hendrix, Crystal Anne, accomplice............. 33,57
Henning, Francis Leroy, counterfeiter................ 9
Herrera, Jonathon, killer oo... ee eeeeeees 33,57
Hesslein, William G., disappeared.................. 10
Heston, Michael, killer oo... ccccceeeeeeees 34,50
Higgins. Robert Leroy, fraud............cccscccccceeeees 14
Higueret, Steven Paul, killer............c::cccccee 34,47
Hindmarsh, Charles, robbery ..........:c:ccccccceeeeees 64
Hodge, John Ledyard, embezzlement.............. 12
Hoffman, LeRoy, Victim ..........cecceessseeeeeees 40, 52
Hogan, Danny, crime bOSS............cccsesseceeeeeeeeees 69
Holbrook, Clay E. Sr., accomplice ............. 34,50
Holbrook, Vernon Dale, accomplice........... 35,50
Holmes, Myron Michael, robbery..................5 65
Holtz, Frederick, burglar..........ccccccssssssseeeeeseesees 5
Howe, Frank, DUrglar.........ccccccccccccsssssssseeeeeseesees 5
Hughes, Tory Evan, fraud...........ccsecssssseeeeeeeeeees 21
Hunter, Craig D., burglary..........cccccccssssseeeeeeeeeees 6
lannaccone, Erasmus A., conspiracy .............6+ 35
Irwin, Russell Dean, robbery ...........:::ccccccceeeeees 63
Ivy, Robert, Victim ..........ccccssscccecessessseeeeees 42,56
Jackson, Andrew, SUSPeCt.............cceseseeeeeees 35,55
Jarvis, JOHN, ACCOMPLICE .........ceceeeseesssteeeeees 35,50
Jeffreys, Emmet McGee, victim ........... 28, 32, 46
Johnson, William E., Victim oo... cc ceeeee eens 64
Johnston, Alvin, robbery ...........ccceceesseeeeeeeeeees 69
Jones, Willis, DUrglary ........c.cccccccccsssssssteeeeeeeeeees 6
Josey, Donald Eugene, robbery ...........cccccceeees 63
Jouban, Gregory, VICTIM ..........cccccseessseeeeeees 31,52
Kall, Harold Berman, mail fraud................c.6 21
Karis, James D., Killer... ccccceeeeeeeeees 35,52
Keith, James Carter, victim....... 30, 32, 37, 39, 46
Keith, Kenneth, Witness .........cccccccccceceseceseeeeees 46
Khalil, Nahib Abe, robbery .............ccccsscceeeeeees 66
Khan, Masroor Ahmad, fraud..............ccccceeeeees 21
Kiley, Patrick Joseph, mail fraud..............cccc0 21
Killian, Gloria Marie, Killer... eee 35,49
King, REN@, VICtIN...........cccccceeceeeeeeeeees 37, 43, 52
King, William D., Victim .........eeeccesesteeeeees 43,52
Kirby, Roger Walden, victim............ 30, 32, 42, 50
Kirchink, Allen |., stolen property...........c0000 74
Kirzner, Michael R., stolen property................. 62
Knapp. Robert Leon, robbery..........ccccccccceeeeees 69
Kohler, RUdolph, Victim ..........ccccceesssseeceeeeeeees 64

80

Kramer, Benjamin Barry, suspect............... 35,51
Kramer, John L., SUSPECt 0... eeeeeeeeeee 35, 42, 44
Landis, James Rufus. theft .............cceeeeeereeeeees 76
Lapa, Frank Albert, killer... 4, 36,47
LaPointe, Timothy H., fraud .............cccscccceceeeeeees 7
Lawrence, Ray, VICTIM ...........csscscsssssrststersrereeees 64
Lawson, William Thomas, drug distribution....10
Leae, Thomas Phillip, accomplice........ 36, 40, 56
LeBus, James Franklin, accessory ..........06 32, 36
Lee, Richard Bruce, burglary............sssscccccssesses 6
Lee, Robert, ViCtin ..........cceeeceeeseeecseseerererereeees 64
Levin, Myron "pop", SUSPeECt ............000cceees 36, 44
Linton, Charles, Victim ............ccccccesseeseeererereeees 68
Linton, Robert and Dagmar, victims................ 40
Litman, Charles L., stolen property ................. 63
Lloyd, Alan Scott, burglary ............cccssssseceeeeeeeees 6
Lomaz, Larry, Mail fraud...........cecseesesseeeeeeees 15
Lombardi, Michael, receiving stolen property. 63
Loyd, Lonnie Dale, accomplice...............05 37, 46
Lundgren, Raymond Alfred, victim............ 37,47
Luther, Scott Michael, mail fraud............... 22, 26
Magma, Maria T., ACCESSOPY .........csseessseserereeees 75
Malchow, Kimberley A. Minnesota...............6 26
Manley, George Carsten, ViCtIM...........:c:ccccceees 56
Maresca, Anthony, killer .............ccccecseseeees 37,55
Marion, David Laurence, Minnesota ............... 22
Masse, Gary Joseph, killer ...............ccceeeeees 37,49
Mattsen, David, theft..............ccceeseeeeeeeeerereeees 77
May, Edmund W., Victim .........ccccccccseesssteeeeeeees 64
McCann, George A., theft ...........ccccecsessseeeeeeens 77
McDonald, Joseph M., suspect...........0:008 37,47
McFarland, Frank, robbery ..............ccsessseeeeeees 69
McGregor, Gerald Charles, accessory........ 37, 46
McHenry, David, mail fraud ...............cccsseceeeees 15
McLemore, Ted, ViCtiM ...........c:cceeeeeeeeerereee 42,56
McNall, Bruce, bank fraud ............ceeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee 12
Merrill, Thomas Reed, acquitted ............... 37,52
Mertens, Robert Leon, drug trafficing............. 10
Meuse, Kevin, roDbery.........ccccccccccssssssstreeeeeeens 65
Meyer, Glenn Edward, killer...............c0:008 37,49
Michaud, Jeanne, burglary ............ccccsssccceeeeeeeees 5
Milet, Michael, theft...............cccccesesseeeseeeeereeeee 77
Miller, Gary Don, burglary.............cccccssccceeeeeeeees 5
Miller, Ronald Lee, victim................00+ 32, 33, 52
Minella, Vito D.,counterfeiting ............cccceeeee 9
Mirabal, Arthur David, killer ..................006 37, 48
Mitzner, Marianne, Victim ..........ccccccceee eens 38, 45
Mooney, William Charles, killer.............06 37,47

Moore, Wayne R., robber............ccecsessceeeeeeeeees 64
Mosley, Cleveland Bryant, victim............... 42,56
Moyer, Frank Alexander, Jr., victim............. 41, 48
Mrbzinski, Jame, Victim... cccccccecececeeeeeeeeees 65
Mulder, Todd Wayne, killer .............:::cccccees 38, 54
Muniz, Donald, fraud .........ccccccccceceseceeeceeeeeeeeees 14
Murphy, Sandra Renee, killer............:0:cccccceeees 38
Murphy, Sandra, killer ...........cccccsesssssceeeeeeeeees 54
Nathis, Louis, thief oo... ccceceseeeeeeeeeeeeees 74
Nay, Susan Lynn, robber.........eccecsssseeeeeeeeeees 64
Nelson, Charles H., theft ..........cccccccccccecsseeeeeeees 76
Nessley, Joseph Richard, accomplice ......... 38, 50
Newcomber, Waldo, Victim ..........ccccccccceceseeeeeeees 5
Newstrom, Catharine, victim ................0 40, 52
Nicholas, Chrysanthos, mail fraud ................0. 16
Nickerson, Walter Frederick, victim.....28, 37, 48
Noe, Thomas W., fraud.......cccccccccccccccececeeeeeeeeeeees 7
Norton, Michael L., alias ........c ec ceeeeees 38, 47
Oatts, Clyde, VICtiM ..........cceeceesssteeeeees 37, 43,52
Ogden, Michael Miles, killer .................0008 38,57
Oliver, Harold, mail fraud ...........c.ccccccceeeeeeeeeees 16
Palmer, Charles Jesse, killer ..........ceeee 38, 48
Palmer, Raymond, thu®.........cccccccsessssseeeeeseeeees 75
Parry, Edward Howland, killer..............cc06 38, 47
Patterson, Roger C., theft............ccccssssseceeseeeees 76
Paulson, Michael, safecracker ..........ccccccceceseeees 75
Peery, Wesley, serial killer............cccesseeeees 38,45
Perschke, Walter, money laundering ............... 27
Peterson, RON, AliaS........cccccccccccecececececeeeeeeeeeeees 22
Peteski, Martin, robbery .............ccccsessceeeeeeeeees 66
Pettengill, Christopher, money launderig ........ 22
Piacentile, Victor C., counterfeiting ................. 10
Pierce, Stanley Winslow, victim...............06 34,47
Pierce. Melissa, ACCOMpIICE ............:0:cccecees 38,57
Pinson, William Leon, killer...............ceee 39, 46
Plum, Wallace Murphy, burglary..........cccccceeeeees 5
Polner, Jensyn, ACCOMPIICE..............c0ceeeeeees 39,57
Porter, Mark E., Killer... ccccceeeeeeeeeeees 39, 48
Powell, Earl Carlton, mail fraud.............ccceeees 16
Ralston, Ronald Lee, victim unsolved............... 57
Ratto, Vincent and Dorothy, victims................. 65
Rauch, Marc, mail fraud uo... ceeeccccseeseeeeeeeeee 16
Rauch, Sol, mail fraud ....... cc ccccccceeeeeeeeeeees 16
Redfield, LaVere, tax CVASION .........cccccceeeeeeeees 75
Redfield, LaVere, ViCtiM........ccccccccccecececeeeeeeeeees 5
Regan, Martin G., thief...........cccccccssssseeeeeeeeees 75
Resnick, Errol Bernard, drug trafficing ............. 11
Rewt, James J., DUrgIArY .....cceccssesssteeeeeeeeeeees 6

81

Ribardy, Joseph H., suspect.............00 39, 42, 44

Richards, Irving J, private detective ................ 75
Richards, Robert Elsworth, victim unsolved ....47
Richardson, Keith, stolen property .............06 63
Richardson, Richard Lee, robbery............ccceee 66
Ringler, Frank, ACCOMPLICE ...........ceeeeeseeeees 39,45
Ritter, Chris, Mastermind ..............cceeeeeeeeeeeeees 66
Rivers, Mary Elizabeth, mail fraud ................. 16
Robinson, Benton Henry, burglary...............0008 6

Robinson, Darrell M., victim ... 30, 33, 34, 35, 38,
39, 50

Rohr, Thomas, Victim ............ccceeeeeeeeeerereeeee 40, 50
Rosas, Pamela Jo. theft ...........c.cccccssssseseseereeee 77
Rosberg, Robert, Victim ..........cccccccsssessseeees 31,50
Rose, Robert C., VictiM...........:cceeseeeeseeeeees 29, 53
Rosenbaum, Richard William, money laundy..28
Rosenthal, Harlan J., drug charges...........ccce 22
Roth, Frederick C., victim................00+ 39, 42, 44
Roza, Frank Jr., FENCE... eee eeeeeeeeeeeeeeereeeeeeeeees 6
Rubio-Segura, Anthony, killer ..............:006 39,54
Rudelik, Thomas Eugene, suspect ............. 39, 44
Rue, Vaughn, accomplice ..........ccccseeseseeees 39,45
Rue, William, Victim................ 29, 30, 39, 45
Rumpp. Charles P., theft ............ccccsssssssseeeeeees 77
Rusetos, Leo "Lee" Samuel, accomp.... 36, 39, 47
Russell,Roy G., theft...........cccsccccccscsssesssteeeeeeens 77
Rymar, Petro, ViCtiIMN ..........cccccsssssssssssetereeees 33, 56
Saccoccia, Donna, accomplice ............cccceseeees 27
Saccoccia, Stephen, money laundering........... 27
Santle, Curly, robbery ............cccessscceeesessessnaeees 69
Sassoon, Gerald Isaac, robbery.............c0eseseeees 66
Schoonmaker, John Vivian, killer ............... 39,45
Schuler, Billy, Victim ...........cccccsessceeeeeeeeeees 37,55
Schultz, Otto, ACCOMPLICE ..........ccccececeeessssseeeees 69
Scott, Edward Lee, accomplice ...............05 39,50
Scott, Richard, fraud ..............ccccccceceseseseeeeeseeeee 14
Scott, Tony Lee, robbery ..........cccccccccceeessessreees 66
Seslar, Philip, robber ............eccesesssceceeeeessesseaeees 64
Sheiner, William, counterfeiting ................:006 10
Sherwood, Earle D., Victim...............0008 32, 39, 45
Sims, Ira V., MINN@SOtA.........ccccccessesseeeeeeeeeeeenees 26
Sinclair, Charles Thurman, killer........... 40,51, 52
Siufanua, Ailiana, killer ..................000008 36, 40, 56
Skaar, Eugene, killer ..........cccecsesseeeeeeeeeeees 40, 48
Skog, Barry Ron, counterfeiting ................. 23, 26
Slade, Charles E., counterfeiting................:006 10
Sloan, Florence, ACCOMPLICE ..........ccceceseessseees 69
Slomovits, Barry, WItNeSS.........ccccccccccscesssssrteees 27

Smith, Jamie Lee, fraud ...........ccccccceeeeeeeeees 23, 26
Smith, Sydney, Victim .............ccccesseseceeeceseesseeees 66
Smith, Willis, Victim............ccceee 29, 30, 39, 45
Snisky, Joseph G., drug trafficking................00 11
Sorenson, Leslie "Butch", victim unsolved....... 54
Sorrenti, Frank, SUSP@CC ..........ccccccccccseessessseeeeees 6
Sparboe, Charles William, victim ............... 40, 52
Sparboe, Jim, WitN@SS...........cccecsesssseeeeeeeseeseaees 40
Spencer, Lawrence, money laundering............ 27
Spraul, Robert C., victim unsolved. ..............:06 45
Srown, Chk, SUSPCCt ........eceeeeeseesssteeeeeeeeeeees 40,55
Steinmetz, Dennis, tax CVASION .........cccceceeeeeeees 75
Stillman, John H., victim.............0. 30, 37, 43, 46
Stockton, JiM, alias ..........cccccccccccceeceeeeeeeeeeeeeeees 40
Stone, David Edward, Sr., killer..............008 41, 48
Stroud, Jerry Kenneth, mail fraud................00 16
Summers, Michael Kevin, alias.............cccccccceees 23
Suter, Richard W., AUtHOL ...........cccccceeceeeeeeeeeeeeees 4
Sutton, David M., Sr., ViCtIM ...........cccccceeees 40, 48
Swain, William Z., robber ...........ccccccceeeeeeeeeeeeeee 64
Swiger, Alan, killer ..........cccccccscesssseeeeeeeeeees 41, 44
Tabish, Richard, killer .........cccccceceeeeeeeeees 41, 54
Tanenbaum, Stephen, Victim ............:ccccee 33,55
Terwillinger, Eugene L. Jr, suspect............. 42, 44
Thompson, Luther Raymond, robbery............. 66
Tilley, James B., stolen property..........cccceeeeees 63
Townsend, Jamison Layne, accomplice...... 42,56
Trainor, Nicholas, robbery ..............ccecssseceeeeeeees 69
Triliegi, John Baptiste, burglary ............ccccceceeees 6
Tulving, Hannes, Jr., fraud ...... eee eecsesteceeeeeeeeees 14
Turnbough, Michael John, killer................. 42,50
Turner, John Monroe, victim............... 29, 48, 56
Tyrell, Gary JUNION, VICTIM ....... eee ceeeesteeeeees 39,55
Ujlachi, Frank J., rODDerY...... ee eeeeesteeeeeeeeeees 66
Ulrich, William James, mail fraud.................0. 23
Vaglica, Anthony B., thief ............cc:cccccccesssssseees 74
Van Cleef, Robert, alias.......cccccccccseseeeeeseeees 36

82

Vanella, Paul and Patricia, victims ................. 64

Veal, Bryan Scott, killer... cceeeseeeeeeees 42,50
Veith, William B., Victim... ccceceees 33,49
Vitale, Ansel Victor, accomplice................ 42, 44
von NotHaus, Bernard, counterfeiter ................ 9
Walsh, Charles, disappeared..........:::cccccccsseeeees 10
Walton, Harry, Victim ..........ccccccccssssssseeeeeeseesees 66
Warren Terry Dean, ACCESSOPY ........ccccceeeeneeeeees 42
Warren, Timothy, theft .............ccccsssseceeeeeeeesees 76
Waste, Schaun Kevin, fraud .........cccccccceceeeeeeeees 24
Webb, Brian Charles, killer .............ceee 42,57
Weiner, Albert, robber........ccccccccceeeeeeeeeees 64
Weir, Jimmy Charles, alias.............ccccccccccceeeeeees 42
Weyer, Gerald D., robbery ............c:ssscccccceseeeees 66
White, James J., ViCtiM...... cc ccccccceceeeeeees 36, 44
White, Steven Wayne, killer............::ccccceees 42,51
Whitehead, Fred Thomas, accomplice ...... 43, 48
Wick, Eric John, killer... ee 37, 43, 52
Wildwood, Harry, robbery .............cccssccceceeeeeesees 7
Wilkinson, Timothy W., burglary..........cccccceecee 6
Willard, Jesse C., robbDery............cccssssceeeeeeeeeees 66
Williams, Ruben Lee "Lucky", victim ......... 40, 51
Wilson, Charles James, accessory...........6 43, 46
Wise, Claude Russell, attempted murder........ 28
Wittsett, Melvin, robbery .............ccccscccccceeeeeees 66
Wolfebauer, Jeffrey Paul, sexual assault.......... 24
Wolfebauer, Ronald Gary, fraud..........cccccceeeees 24
Woodruff, Terry, fraud..........cccccccsessssceeeesseesees 14
Woomer, Ronald Raymond, killer.............. 43, 48
Wright, Benjamin P., Victim..............:ccccccceeeseeeees 7
Yablun, Raymond, VICtiM .............ceceseeeeeeees 36, 46
Yaffe, Mark, bank fraud........cccccccccccccceeeeeeeeeeees 13
Yeager, Wyatt, theft ..........cccecsssssseeeeeeeeeeees 77
Young, Andries, R, Durglary...........csc:sscccccecssessees 6
Young, Mattie Elizabeth, killer... 43, 46
Zimmerman, Eugene W., VictiM.............66 38, 48